Initium: At the Scalpel's Edge
by AdLibThisFic
Summary: Naruto and Sasuke found themselves press-ganged into a stage that has been set up for a very long time. New Allies and new enemies are mere pieces, actors and actresses performing on a stage. But with the two shinobi haunted by their last run in with the benefactor, they are eager to disrupt the momentum and take it all.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey everyone, so this fic here is just an idea for an epic sized fic. Just want to keep a few points here. Naruto and Sasuke, while mostly similar to canon, does not reflect the same history. If you are looking for any pairings, well sorry to disappoint, I'm writing this without really thinking of a pairing. But if there are any pairings, it will be when I think it makes sense in the story as it goes along. Finally for the rest of the points... well I'll leave it at the end of the chapter. So have fun, don't be afraid to criticise for any stuff like grammar, plot holes or even characterisations (after all I aim to improve them and I need all the help I can get).**

 **Also just a little note. Underlined Speech is Naruto's native language.**

I'd like to think that I'm a forward-thinking man, always cooking up ways to make a good amount of Lien for my retirement. I mean, slaying Grimm and saving villages and all earns good money but only so far as your body can cope before you get to old. As a Huntsman… sorry, ex-Huntsman, I find digging for unique artifacts or metals way more valuable. Doesn't mean I'm stupid enough to neglect training; I'm in the wilderness after all.

I do know that throughout all my digs and expeditions so far, this place is very old and unique, and with the unexpected boon of having no Grimm. I see the strange building structures and markings littered all over what I assume to be a small city of some sort. Now, I like to also think I'm a positive man, but seriously from the junk I'm seeing, it isn't promising until I've found an underground structure. It is not the sewer system, but more like a military facility. Pretty sure I can make a few Lien from the documents and decrepit weapons here, so I case the place through the dark hallways It is pretty much what I expect, nothing speci…. Woah…

This is not something you'd see in an abandoned place like this. In front of me... is some kind of silver crystal… a huge one but I can see something inside. Below it is a plaque, but I can't read it well yet. I fumble for my notebook because I've seen this language quite often ever since my time in these lands. Documents, signs, books and other documentation would have this strange and ancient language. Took me a few weeks to get a decent grasp on what they may say, but the fact that the styles seems to alternate every once in a while makes some of the translation awkward.

 _MAELSTROM SLEEPS IN PLACE…_

Maelstrom? Is it some kind of weapon? If that's the case, this could be a serious boon for my pocket! Okay, there is still more to go…

 _SACRIFICED TO FUTURE GRANTED…_

… No, that can't be right, must've messed up the grammar again. I sit down and begin humming to myself; obviously it must say something along the lines of 'It grants the sacrificed a future'. Sounds off, but I can't say I know what it means yet; will have to look into the rest.

 _AWAKEN FUTURE SHOULD THREATEN_

Great… this is just conflicting. From what I can tell, it must be something the guys here took great lengths to hide. Would explain all this about the future and threat. Okay, well, let's see what this crystal substance is made up of, gotta find something after all!

As I reach for it, I suddenly felt the whole place freeze…

"Halt," a clear and cool voice orders. Whoever said that is very much alive, and I was pretty confident that this place was devoid of life.

"Turn around… slowly," the voice commands. I comply and soon enough I find myself staring at a young man dressed in a black suit. Damnit… what is this choking atmosphere? Feels like this whole place went cold.

Oh…His eyes looks so… unnerving. One eye is ringed and purple, the other has an intricate red and black pattern. I can't help but find it mesmerising. The man in question is simply staring at me. Is that his semblance? It has to be, never seen eyes like this before.

"State your business, huntsman…" he leaves no room to wiggle… great. For some reason this guy feels so encroaching. Hell, my aura feels like it's about to abandon me, and my semblance feels so inadequate right now.

"I warn you, I'll know if you lie." His glare pierces me, but this guy... He's just a kid, I can probably give a white lie or…

 _GUH!_

I don't even know what just happened; in one second I found myself bursting into flames, the next second I found myself kneeling, panting and sweating, no burns, fire or anything. What the hell!? After coughing I glanced up to see the man gazing at me with those eyes.

"I've warned you," he states. Damn, how did he know I was going to lie? Before I can respond he appears in front of me, his hand gripping the back of my head, his eyes glowing malevolently.

Again, he speaks, but it's like a different language. The next thing I know vivid images flash before me and I instinctively struggle but all I feel is…..

* * *

Sasuke breathed out as he relaxed his grip on the huntsman, who collapsed wide eyed. To him, it was a small price to invade and siphon all the memories from one person and turn them into a vegetable-like state. With this kind of work, he couldn't afford mercy or leeway. Especially with that Black Cat in the seat again.

The information seemed to sync with what he knew already. He cursed softly at the situation; he knew he was in a tight spot and he had barely been given enough time. Regardless, if this was all the time he had been given, then it should be more than enough to handle within the time frame.

With a sigh, he placed his hand on the crystal and it responded in kind by pulsing steadily. Perhaps this was what that damned benefactor had in mind for him. If the visions and riddles of Grimm and shady organisations on the move were any indication to him, the whole thing had started quite a while ago.

The crystal started to dissolve and revealed a young blonde man dressed in a simple white shirt and pants. Sasuke moved to support him as the he began to stir and groan.

"Naruto… how're you feeling?" Sasuke asked, a small warmth creeping into his voice; it had been so long since he last spoken to his best friend. After all, one of them was dead and the other had sealed for a very long time.

Naruto mumbled incoherently before slipping back into unconsciousness. Sasuke grimaced. It looked like he would have to move to a more hospitable area to have the Uzumaki to recover as soon as possible. He pulsed his chakra once and in the next instance the two men vanished in a swirl of leaves.

* * *

Naruto slowly stirred, it isn't everyday he gets awakened by the dreamy smell of miso pork ramen. He slowly peeled his eyes open to find his vision flooded with light, blocked partially by a shadow over him.

"Good, you're awake, dobe."

Naruto blinked, no one called him that but…

"Sasuke? Where am I?" he asked as he rubbed his eyes. He couldn't help but drool slightly, that ramen smell was intoxicating.

"A hotel in Vale, though I'm pretty sure you have no idea where that is," Sasuke answered. By now, Naruto's eyes had finally adjusted to see himself in one of the two beds in a pretty luxurious room. Sasuke was seated next to him, his onyx right eye surveyed him, on his left he wore a black eye patch.

"Anyway, dobe, got you some pick me up," the Uchiha said as he raised what looked to be a small steaming foam cup with a purple label, and a pair of chopsticks. Naruto wasted no time, he snatched the cup and began to devour the noodles. Sasuke chuckled at the familiar quirk. "Some things never change, huh?"

Naruto continued slurping down the noodles greedily before bringing the cup to his mouth, hellbent on draining the broth. With a satisfied sigh, he replied, "Ramen is still the food of the Gods."

Sasuke smirked and shook his head before he turned his focus to his long-time friend. In an instant, the light-hearted atmosphere turned rigid.

"Before we start getting into business, I'll need to bring you up to speed in this world," Sasuke stated as his black oebs shifted to two very different ones Naruto was very familiar with. Before he knew it, images flashed through his mind like a rapidly firing gun.

Naruto tried to scream, crushing his empty ramen cup in his grip. The sheer volume of information cramming into his head happened all in a single moment as Naruto could feel years of images both painful and pleasurable flooding his senses. An image of a man with grey hair and brown spectacles, a black haired lady grinning with sheer sadism, several airships leaving a large city, men and women with animal appendages raiding buildings and more.

Sasuke merely watched as he finished hypnotising his friend He knew how painful it could be, but time was a luxury he couldn't afford and was forced to make Naruto understand.

"Ugh… What the fuck, Sasuke?" the blonde man moaned as he gripped his head; he almost felt like vomiting his esteemed ramen noodles. It only took him a second to regain his composure as he realised another detail. "Am I… speaking in a different language?"

"You are, it's what the locals use compared to us ages ago," Sasuke answered, "And you, on the other hand, know what's going on right now."

Naruto fell silent. While the images were certainly fast and brief, they were as clear as crystal. However, he knew that his friend was hiding something from him. Images of certain men and women, locations, numbers. All seemed to add to a point where things were a little too convenient; it almost reminded Naruto of the Fourth Shinobi War. On top of that, there was one big mystery that was sitting right next to him.

"Before we do anything though, I need to know you are combat ready, I'll wait for you outside," Sasuke stated, rising from his seat.

"Wait!" Sasuke paused at Naruto's voice. "Answer me one thing, Sasuke, because there is one thing that doesn't make sense."

Sasuke turned towards Naruto, who took it as a cue to continue, "Why are you still alive?"

Sasuke remained silent for a while before turning towards the exit of the room and simply saying, "The Black Cat decided to play."

Naruto's face flashed with disgust. _Of course, it's her that probably has something to do with all this that is happening around the world_. She did the same thing leading up to the Fourth Shinobi War and if the Six Paths Sage was to be believed, had done so multiple times as well.

With that, Naruto found himself alone with a soured mood.

At the foot of his bed was a table and a case to which the ninja opened. Inside revealed a black long-sleeved shirt with orange trims, black camo pants, black steel tipped boots, a set of armguards and a small combat pouch. Naruto cursed softly; the lack of orange further worsened his mood. Add that to his list of things to ask Sasuke once he gets out of this hotel room.

Naruto left the room, decked out in his new combat gear. Sasuke was seated on a cushioned, red couch just opposite of the doorway Naruto left, looking through what seemed to be a small silver device and it is a moment before he notices long-time friend. With an approving nod, he beckoned Naruto to follow him and lead the way through the building.

It didn't take long for Naruto's eyes to start wandering. This building, the outside, everything looked so… different. First were those metal boxes that seemed to have people in them outside the buildings, second were the weird signs that seemed to have moving pictures (maybe advanced genjutsu?) and that's not to mention that automatic door they passed through. Sure, he had seen some of these through Sasuke's hypnosis but he couldn't help but be taken aback by it all.

Sasuke, on the other hand, couldn't help chuckle at Naruto's reaction. He had pretty much the same thoughts though he had definitely hid it better.

They moved through the streets of Vale at a leisurely place, eventually reaching a small park with a few people relaxing at the fountain and park benches. The two found a small isolated area and faced each other with a sizable distance between them.

"Okay, this should do. Three minutes, taijutsu only. Too risky to use anything else now," Sasuke said, and Naruto nodded at the terms and shifted into a stance with his partner following suite.

Naruto charged first, eager to take an aggressive approach. Sasuke calmly kept his guard up and parried the punches he recieved, but even then he was forced to step back a few times from the sheer force of the blonde's onslaught.

Sasuke grimaced as he remembered that his friend was the superior of the two when it came to raw strength and readjusted his stance. Naruto charged in, hellbent on keeping up the pressure, but the Uchiha wasn't going to let him dictate the pace and in a split second Sasuke swatted Naruto's right fist downward and shoulder charged, forcing the blonde to stumble backwards.

Much to Sasuke's annoyance, Naruto shrugged off the counter like it was nothing. This time Sasuke dashed forward, thrusting his fists and knees at the chest and sides in an attempt to crack Naruto's guard, but his partner had no intention of continuing to be on the defensive and quickly retaliated with a haymaker. While predictable, he wisely stepped back out of range as the force would at the very least weaken his guard. Naruto grinned and jumped forward driving Sasuke to sidestep and retaliate with a shove in the back.

"Is that all you got, dobe?" Sasuke asked with a taunting grin. Naruto snorted and simply stretched his neck and arms. In an instant, the blonde moved in, aggressively raining a series of punches and kicks and pressuring Sasuke onto the back foot. The oppressive pacing left Sasuke little room to breathe, but that didn't mean he was out of options. He forced his legs forward and trapped Naruto's movement before thrusting his elbow forward into the other's jaw. If it were anyone else, they would have received a fracture and tripped, but all Naruto he did was stumble before regaining his composure as if the last few strikes were tickles at best.

"Okay, that's enough," Sasuke called out. Though neither had really took the spar seriously, it was clear Naruto's physical condition and reflexes were at an acceptable level. As for ninjutsu and other abilities, he would have to figure out a way to assess it without explaining to the Vale authorities why they had decided to torch the park.

"Ah, c'mon, you bastard! I was so gonna kick your ass and you know it!" Naruto whined as he flapped his arms in annoyance. Sasuke merely scoffed and brushed at his suit from the scuffle before beckoning to Naruto to follow him to a new destination.

In a few minutes the two found themselves in a coffee store, seated in a small cubicle. Much to Naruto's disgust, the coffee, as these modern people liked to call it, was way too bitter for his taste.

Sasuke began tapping into his small silver device before nodding. "First things first Naruto," said Sasuke, Naruto curtly nodded as he knew from the tone that it now means business, "We'll need to meet Ozpin, I'm sure you know who he is."

Ozpin, from what Naruto had gathered, was Sasuke's point of contact and the person who was likely to have the most knowledge on the current state of affairs. However, he still couldn't help but feel this whole thing was off.

"Sasuke, before we do this, I don't think we should do anything she wants," Naruto said, referring to the previous conversation they had at the hotel. His voice held nothing but trained caution. Sasuke knew that Naruto would not be happy about this ever since he mentioned the Black Cat.

"No choice, if we want-"

"No choice!?" Naruto repeated incredulously, "She was the one who conned you against everyone! She was the one that forced us to kill our friends and sealed Kurama and the others to who knows where! She was the one that played on Kaguya's insanity! You honestly can't be expecting us to work with her of all people!"

"I'm not saying we should trust her!" hissed Sasuke, "But she forced me back here and expects us to play her game. Until we figure out why, we've got no choice."

Naruto could only give a small growl of frustration and backed down. Sasuke shook his head and continued, "Ozpin is her piece on the board but, from what I gathered, not because he wants to be."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. Seemed like the Ozpin guy wasn't a willing participant. While it didn't mean that they should trust this him, it certainly made the blonde slightly happier that someone who is aware of the Black Cat was not comfortable with this situation.

In that moment, Naruto's mind clicked. "So you're saying if we can get him on our side…"

"We can turn this whole board on her and whoever she's against," Sasuke finished with a small smirk. Naruto's own smirk grew a little. He may not be one for vengeance, but payback was something he had wanted for a very long time… literally.

* * *

 **A/N: So there you have it! First chapter done. Now there are a few 'weird' things placed in this chapter and with good reasons. Now I want you all to realise that while this story takes place in the RWBY-verse, it has elements of Naruto-verse locations. Also history and the current canon timeline is going to be deviated heavily (after all, the very presence of Naruto and Sasuke should be very telling).**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Few things to note.**

 **Italics in blocks/sections are generally flashbacks**

 **Italic speeches are like radio talk.**

 **Underlined speech is the native language of Naruto and Sasuke.**

* * *

" _Milady… it is done, " a man reported with a low bow. He wore the purple robes and white hat uniform of his group. All of them were trained for a specific purpose; to seal the tailed beasts._

 _The group of nine men surrounded a gasping Naruto, who was tied down on the ground tied by several glowing ropes. At each of their feet was a large marble box with several sealing tags as it if they screamed 'DO NOT OPEN'._

 _Naruto struggled to breathe. He felt pain everywhere, even in places he thought he couldn't hurt. Getting nine beasts ripped out of you really sucked. He felt a gentle touch tap his chest, and next thing he knew, the figurative hole inside him disappeared but the utter exhaustion remained._

 _Naruto looked up and saw a woman who wearing something he had never seen before: A frilly, blue dress and a small golden bell attached to her neck. She was quite voluptuous as well, not so much as Tsunade, but very close. Her midnight hair was styled into strange drill shaped locks and sitting atop of that was a small silver tiara._

" _Mmm, you've done very well, " the woman said as she caressed Naruto's face. "You've done everything I hoped you would do,"_

 _Her smile was devoid of warmth and Naruto felt a little unnerved by the her. " What do you mean?"_

 _The woman's smile turned into a toothy grin, a grin of a maniac. " How you've helped me win my game in a way I expected you to! How the backdrop of despair clouded you, all your friends have proven to be invaluable tools to help you become my ultimate piece."_

 _Naruto froze; realisation hit him as the woman kept talking. She was the one who turned everyone against each other? She was the one who drove everyone into madness?_

" _Yes, my dear Naruto, every enemy you faced, every friend you faced, I've prepared them meticulously for that final moment against my opponent's Kaguya, " she answered his unspoken questions, glee creeping into her voice. "In fact, I think you would prove to be an interesting piece in future games, though, I've no need for the tailed beasts anymore, such primitive beings have no place on this hallowed board anymore."_

 _With a giggle, she placed her hand on Naruto's forehead and the shinobi felt his consciousness slipping away from him._

* * *

Sasuke and Naruto emerged from the elevator into the only room at the top of the tower, much to the relief of Naruto; those 'elevators' weren't exactly something he enjoyed.

"Ah… Mr. Uchiha, Mr. Uzumaki! Glad you could make it. Welcome to Beacon Academy," a voice called from the end of the room. A man with a young, firm face and grey hair turned to them, and in his hand was a mug of hot chocolate if the smell was anything to go by. He sat down and beckoned the two to take the seats opposite of him.

As they sat down, the Uchiha placed a small golden bell on the desk. That was all that was needed for the headmaster to sigh, as if he knew it was the inevitable but hoped it didn't come to pass. He looked at the two, prepared to take in whatever they had to say.

"Ozpin, you know what this is, so let's get to the point. The faster we finish this game, the better," Sasuke stated briskly. An aggressive opening and a bold one at that. Ozpin frowned. While he had no idea who the two were except for the fact that they work for the same entity, trusting them could prove fatal.

"I'm afraid, Mr. Uchiha, I can't simply go straight to the root and uproot everything along with it," Ozpin replied before he stared pointedly at the two, his own opening put forth, "While it is clear you disagree with my methods, it is the best play I have. Especially if you consider the current state of affairs."

Sasuke and Naruto were well aware of the 'state of affairs' the headmaster was referred to. To them, what he was being too safe.

"I somehow doubt that. You made a lot of mistakes and most of your time was spent it on cleaning them up while the enemies consolidated their power," the Uchiha replied as leaned forward. Ozpin couldn't completely deny that, but at the end of the day, if the mess isn't fixed, it would've been more harmful. The Uchiha didn't stop there, "It was only a matter of time before others came into play. You know how they all are."

Ozpin scowled. Sasuke was trying to force a different strategy all together. Though subtle and cryptic, it was clear that they had something in mind beyond what was happening right now. Ozpin leaned forward and laced his fingers together.

"Are you saying that I should take a more aggressive approach in handling the adversaries? That is a dangerous idea you have, we have far more to lose than they do," Ozpin answered. He had no choice but to probe for their motive, he was in this far too blind compared to the two young men in front of him. He would need to level the playing field before he could anything from them.

"All losses will be justified so long as there is a win," Sasuke replied. Naruto, this time, scowled even deeper and Ozpin knew at that point that the two weren't exactly in agreement. It was likely that though they had the same objective, their means differed.

"For you or for this world?" Ozpin asked. He needed to be sure that the two cared about this world to some extent. If they had no reason to protect it, then they were just as dangerous as his enemies.

"For all of us. _She_ isn't going to care how," Naruto spoke up with a pointed glare. Ozpin's attention was now turned to the blonde. "She'll make sure you lose everything for one singular aspect."

When Naruto entered the fray, Ozpin didn't like what he was alluding to. The man couldn't disagree as he gazed into the blonde shinobi's bitter expression. It was clear there was a level of distrust for the Black Cat, but all three of them had little reason to resist a mutual associate.

"You're right, that is her M.O.," conceded Ozpin. He leaned back and sipped his hot chocolate. While Sasuke and Naruto weren't necessarily enemies to the headmaster, they weren't allies either. From their positions, he had established that all they have were similar goals and similar enemies. Frankly, it would be in his interest to have the two at least not moving against him; the situations with the Grimm, Maidens and other factors had already stretched Ozpin's resources dangerously thin. Anymore outside intervention would cause a collapse and put everything he worked for. He would have to move carefully to put this conversation on deadlock. "However, she has made no indication that we have to play by her tune. She's yet to make any move that would support what you have said."

The three stared each other down, not interested in budging on their position. Sasuke, on one hand, wanted this whole debacle over as soon as possible. Naruto's position wasn't much different except for his overt disgust of the one person that had them all on a leash. Ozpin, however, did not like the aggressive motions the two young men were interested in partaking. The impasse needed to be broken, and he took the initiative.

"I'm sure you are aware that here at Beacon, we train young men and women to become elite warriors in handling both the Grimm and other threats against humanity, and by extension faunus. I'm hoping you two would be able to… come to an agreement and join the academy," the headmaster offered. It was a risky move but the advantage it could potentially provide was well worth it. To his disappointment, Naruto's face showed nothing but indifference, while Sasuke merely narrowed his eyes at the offer.

"No… that would just restrict our movement, something we can't afford," Sasuke countered. "Say we did stay at Beacon for whatever reason, we would lose not only our mobility, but we'd lose reach and our ability to respond to unseen circumstances."

"True, but it would be easier for the enemy to detect that you are an anomaly. After all, apart from myself and the Black Cat, who else knows that you are two intruders from a time intentionally wiped?" Ozpin replied as he tried to push them a little further. "Besides, if you did go against what I intend to preserve, you would find yourself not only in opposition of our mutual enemies, but myself as well. Here at Beacon, you can build a network of allies that you solely can judge during your stay. Also, you would have access to resources that can only be used by me."

Ozpin was aware that the two men were in one of two categories: leaders with the capability of bringing allies and friends together or beings of immense power, only restricted by the fact that they were just one unit. For now, gambling that both were the latter would be the safer bet. The very fact that they would be blocked out of a lot of many potential resources was something they would rather avoid.

"Sasuke, do you have any idea why the Black Cat wants us here?" Naruto asked abruptly. Sasuke eyed the older looking man, who made no indication of understanding their language.

"If it was like anything last time, she'll expect us to be playing into her tricks, and then somehow win her the game," Sasuke replied, with bitterness creeping into his voice. Naruto nodded. Their victory in the Fourth Shinobi War could not be described as anything but a miracle. By all odds, Konoha and her allies should've fallen decisively, but that all turned around thanks to the whims of a certain Black Cat.

"Wouldn't it be better to work with Ozpin for now? Get more people on board, they have as much right to take her out as any of us."

Sasuke paused. It was true working with Ozpin was far more beneficial as he had the most information and resources, but if push came to shove, Sasuke could easily rip that information out of him and even use him as a puppet. The problem was that doing so would only draw suspicion from every other faction, even from Ozpin's own allies. On top of that, he knew Naruto would never approve.

"Genjutsu on him can work, we use him to our benefit and finish this quick," Sasuke proposed, his right eye shifting red as he spoke. He couldn't trust Ozpin and so he took a gamble, hoping Naruto would be on board.

Ozpin quickly narrowed his eyes as his hand twitched for his cane. While he had no idea what the abilities of these two were; he could not take them lightly. From the tone they were speaking in, Sasuke seemed to be leaning towards a forceful action, while Naruto had yet to make enough significant movements to tell what he wanted.

"Sasuke… No. Remember how we lost to her? We need more than just us," Naruto argued as he shifted in his seat to face Sasuke. The Uchiha kept his red eye on Ozpin ;as he fingered his eyepatch briefly, whether he acknowledged his friend's point or not was unclear.

"Whatever you try to do, Mr. Uchiha, I strongly advise you against it. My faction is more than well enough informed and equipped to function without me and I assure you they would be well aware if anything strange were to happen to me," Ozpin stated. It wasn't a complete bluff, but losing himself at this stage was not ideal. Again, silence dominated the confrontation.

"Ozpin, I agree with you that it is against both our interests to work against or sabotage one another, so how about we compromise in this case?" Naruto asked as he took charge. Sasuke glanced at his fellow ninja with a raised eyebrow, his Sharingan deactivated. For now, there was a mutual benefit both of them. This was likely to be a temporary alliance as their goals just happened to be parallel to one another for now. Naruto had never considered himself a diplomat of sorts, but he'd rather reach a peaceful solution than one under force.

Ozpin knew there was no point beating a dead Grimm. He leaned forward and asked, "Alright… what do you want?"

This got both Sasuke and Naruto's attention. Disguise your surrender and see what they want with it; another gamble, but this may give Ozpin the edge he needed over the two shinobi.

"Access to your communications and transport, everything you know about the potential enemies, zero obligations to follow any regulations, both Beacon and Vale's, and zero oversight on our operations," Sasuke bargained. Ozpin had expected that kind of move and already knew how he would reply.

"I'm afraid I don't trust you enough to give you any of that. Even if you do become my students, what I gain from it is minimal at best," Ozpin answered calmly, "I will let you learn everything about any opposition we may encounter and with time I will give you access to all communications and transport I hold.

"I want oversight of all your operations, overt and covert and you'll have to abide by all regulations in all activities unless of course, they are covert," he finished as he adjusted his spectacles.

Naruto and Sasuke glanced at each other. Information and access to support was always a godsend but having someone outside observing their activities wasn't exactly what they wanted. The headmaster made it clear that he didn't want to fly blind either and have more unforeseeable variables in play.

"Ok… I'll agree to that so long as all operations are within our control, not yours, and that includes the final calls on all fronts," Sasuke replied offhandedly. Ozpin nodded cautiously, knowing that he would be able to prepare counter-measures or even take advantage of their operations. Having no say on any of them, however, could prove detrimental.

"If I push any missions, covert especially, to you and I maintain jurisdiction on those missions, I will tell you everything about my encounters with the Black Cat… and her opponent, so long as I'm satisfied with all the mission's conclusion." A final bid made by Ozpin. Sasuke and Naruto perked up and at the moment the wizard knew he got the better side of the deal. The glances the shinobi threw at each other showed they were both conflicted with the idea, until Sasuke gave a nod.

"Deal…" With that, the two young men stood up but they were interrupted.

"Ah… one more thing… I'll need to assess you. I assure you it is to make sure that I'm not cheated out of anything. I'll contact you when I'm ready," Ozpin called out. Sasuke and Naruto glanced at each other once more before they nodded and promptly left the headmaster alone.

Ozpin sighed as he gazed once more at the golden bell. Nowadays, it was hard to trust who was on his side anymore. When it came to his faculty and his group, he had complete faith. But those two? Especially when they appeared thanks to the Black Cat? Worst of all, the potential of his own students being thrown in to fight her. Ozpin knew it was too good to be true to have two potentially powerful new allies. He took the golden bell in his hands; first, he would need to see them in action.

* * *

"I don't trust him, but he is right"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow as he glanced at Naruto; he had always considered the blonde to be a solid judge of character. Not flawless, but trustworthy. He scratched at his eyepatch, gave a short sigh and replied, "Doesn't matter, so long as we use gain access to what he has, we should be able to find all the answers."

The two remained silent for a time in the elevator as it descended Beacon Tower. Naruto mulled over his thoughts, clearly not happy with what transpired. The Uchiha was eager to have the whole debacle finished, whereas Ozpin was more concerned in having the least losses possible at the cost of efficiency and speed. Naruto himself wasn't sure where he stood, but he was more willing to lean towards Ozpin's ideal.

"Sasuke, we do this right," Naruto replied with an air of warning. Sasuke merely grunted, understanding of what the blonde was implying. He just didn't agree with it and it wasn't like he could trust anyone else.

The elevator opened to reveal a large hall and the two stepped out, with Naruto breathing out in relief. How people could be comfortable in small boxes that move at high speeds was something he would never understand.

"Well come with me, I think I know just the thing to cheer you up," Sasuke said, and the two left Beacon grounds with uncertain minds.

* * *

It was late afternoon in the city of Vale and Naruto wasn't sure if he wanted to cry tears of joy or hug Sasuke. After all, when you were sitting at a ramen stand, smelling high quality miso pork ramen, the only true action you could do was to grab a pair of chopsticks and wolf down the noodle dish as fast as you could. _Well, whenever Sasuke does this, it usually comes with strings attached and let all witnesses know that everything is worth it for a bowl of top notch bowl of ramen._

"So now that we had the meeting with Ozpin, do we have any leads to the Black Cat?" Naruto asked as he ordered another bowl.

"White Fang, it's some kind of organisation that focuses on Faunus rights and equality," Sasuke answered, only to have Naruto tilt his head, so the Uchiha clarified, "They're basically humans with animal characteristics, don't know if it does much for them though. The thing is, they used to be a peaceful organisation. They don't even harass anyone, just protests, speeches and the occasional radio broadcast."

Naruto paused, while the White Fang certainly was an interesting organisation, he didn't see why it had any relevance. He looked at Sasuke, expecting him to explain.

"Recently the organisation has turned… militant. They've been linked around the world to various crimes started out small. Vandalism, harassment and the likes," Sasuke explained as he showed his scroll to Naruto. It displayed various news articles showing a large number of headlines that seemed to condemn the organisation. "Eventually it got to the point where they clashed with Government officials, The military and large corporations like Schnee Dust Company. Assassinations, sabotage, kidnappings… list goes on."

"That can't be much of a lead unless you're saying that the sudden style change is the key point here," Naruto said, before he thanked the shop owner as he got his second bowl of ramen. He started eating the noodles at a much slower pace as if he was pondering something. "Maybe a change of Leadership?"

Sasuke gave a grunt of agreement, "I think so too, the style is too drastic of a change to think otherwise. Then we also have the problem that the White Fang pretty much went underground ever since their last string of crimes in various states. We might have to find someone who is affiliated with them."

The problem was that both of them were as blind about this as each other. Naruto frowned at the fact that most, if not all, White Fang members seemed to hide their identity behind a mask and uniform save the occasional animal ears, horns or tail.

"The other lead is this," This time Sasuke pulled a small photo out of his suit and placed it in front of Naruto.

"The… Atlas Torrenford Pharmaceuticals," Naruto muttered.

"Responsible for your typical medicines, prosthetics and other medical stuff. They used to be independent from the Atlas Government until a few months ago. Now they've been changing up what they produce," Sasuke explained.

"Think you might be a little too paranoid with this one, Sasuke," the blonde shinobi replied. Sure, they may have started working with the Atlas Government, but it couldn't really mean much. He might not understand the politics and all that mumbo jumbo, but he just found it hard to believe that they would lead to the Black Cat at all.

 _BEEP BEEP! BEEP BEEP!_

Sasuke's scroll vibrated, much to the shock of Naruto; good thing he had finished his second bowl in a pretty impressive speed. Once Sasuke tapped the phone, Ozpin's face appeared on the screen.

"Mr. Uchiha! I hope you and Mr. Uzumaki are ready, I've got something I want you to take a look at," Ozpin said briskly.

"Alright, first, I need you to get some things for me, Ozpin. I don't exactly have the Lien to pull it off," Sasuke replied as he began tapping the phone. Ozpin remained silent and gave a nod.

"Might not get everything, Mr. Uchiha, some of those are rather… outdated, I'll see what I can do. There is an abandoned building in the industrial district with the address I sent you, I'll brief you there in two hours."

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke entered the abandoned warehouse decked in combat gear and found Ozpin standing alone with a large green box at his side. The headmaster gave a curt nod and opened it to reveal several pieces of equipment inside.

"Everything I can get, Mr. Uchiha," Ozpin presented as Sasuke reached in to pull out a large chokuto. It was a simple design, but well made. Steel straight blade with one cutting edge, light grip, and a simple black and grey scabbard.

Sasuke smirked as he pulled out the blade for a few test swings; sure, it wasn't Kusanagi in any sense, but it was close enough. He picked up a smaller blade in a black, leather scabbard and tossed it to Naruto. The blonde shinobi raised an eyebrow as he looked at the combat knife he received, with one large hole at the end of the steel grip.

"It's no kunai, but it works, right?" Sasuke asked. Naruto shrugged, it definitely had some similarities to a kunai except it seemed to only have one cutting edge and a hilt. With a few twirls and shadow slashing, Naruto grunted, maybe wind chakra could do something like what Asuma did.

The two shinobi continued to dig into the box and found some interesting gear. Flashbangs, smoke bombs, steel wire, black gloves and trip mines, but it lacked explosive tags and many other pieces they were both accustomed to. Finally, the two fished out two identical black masks, each one fitted with specialised mouth-pieces and tinted eye-pieces, the final gear for keeping identities under wraps.

"Alright, it seems you two are satisfied with the gear. Shall we then?" Ozpin asked, as he began tapping on his black scroll. He then faced the display to the two shinobi to reveal several images including a portrait of middle-aged man with a defined jawline and grey hair.

"Meet Mr. Celik Steele, one of the top lieutenants of the Superion group in Mistral. His appearance here is troubling as the Superion group is rumored to be involved in young human and Faunus trafficking, although the reasons are currently unknown as there was no concrete evidence to suggest anything." Ozpin closed the scroll and readjusted his spectacles. "Despite this, whenever an executive or officer of the Superion group appears in any state, missing children cases spike and that's not including any orphans which may have slipped under the radar."

Naruto and Sasuke had their fair share of missions when it came to dealing with an organisations specialising in certain crimes. They knew it would require more than just the guns blazing approach.

"We need him alive, so we can fish out more information about Superion. The authorities at Mistral have difficulty in dealing with those kinds of organisations. Right now he should be at the Grandier Ports. Capture him. If there are any hostages, rescue them and try not to make a mess," Ozpin said. Sasuke nudged Naruto and the two left the building briskly, eager to finish the job. The headmaster called out once more, "Oh, before I forget, his semblance is unknown so proceed with caution, I'll be watching you via your helmet feed."

As the two operatives left, Ozpin began tapping on his scroll again, getting ready to enjoy the show. It was then he realised he had forgotten to bring some snacks and a nice mug of hot chocolate.

* * *

Night fell over the city of Vale, most of the dwellers at home or in a bar enjoyed their lives in small ways. However, for one Celik Steele, it was still business time and of course he was dressed appropriately in white and silver suit with a stainless-steel briefcase. Today has been a decent boon: two humans and one Faunus child along with the rest, ready to be shipped to Mistral. It had been painstaking ever since the Vale police been on high alert, and while not necessarily for trafficking, supposedly there were several dust heists being conducted on the streets.

Either way, all Celik had was a dozen and a half men, already securing the rest of the cargo in the ship. Still, even if the job was almost finished, it didn't mean he was lax about security. To drive that point, he had almost all his men doing multiple patrols around the ship making sure no one got near the docks. He opened his scroll and sounded off a roll call; once everyone had sounded in, then it would be time to wrap up this gig.

"Sir! We have a problem!" one of the two men accompanying Celik declared with urgency. The lieutenant merely faced one of the many grey uniformed goons, who took this as a chance to continue, "Teams two and three didn't sound off, Sir!"

Celik pinched the bridge of his nose as he felt a migraine coming on. Of course there were going to be problems just before the job finished. As much as he'd like to make sure he got all his men back home, the chances are that they had been captured was too high and he couldn't do anything about that.

"We'll have to leave, tell the Bridge to get moving now," Celik ordered as he turned to head towards his quarters.

"But-!"

"I know… but I will not risk anymore of us right now," Celik growled out, knowing what his subordinate was going to ask. The goon in question simply hung his head before giving a crisp salute, then started contacting another team on his scroll as he and his peer flanked Celik. The faster they left Vale, the better.

Much to Celik's displeasure, he saw one of his men fly past him into a crate, knocked out. Within a split second, he and his remaining bodyguard snapped to parry incoming attacks in a successful manner, only to see a person decked out in black combat gear, with a seemingly multi-function headgear to boot.

Not a single word was spoken as all three conscious men charged at each other. The bodyguard whipped out a baton to aim the first strike only to have it smoothly parried and returned with a strike in the head, ensuring a knockout. Celik's briefcase quickly transformed into a mace, forcing the assailant to stop in his tracks and avoid the incoming moment Celik's strike was too wide, the assailant closed in and struck him forcing him to stumble.

The assailant wasn't done, however; he stepped in and struck relentlessly, coercing Celik to not only use his mace but his left arm as well to defend himself, his aura flared to deal with the unguarded hits. The Superion officer was annoyed, but he was learning his assailant's pattern and in due time, he would activate his semblance. He may be an ex-huntsman, but he was still pretty damn good at combat.

The moment the assailant struck forward with an expected right straight, Celik swatted it away and shifted his footwork forward to thrust at the assailant with his left elbow, followed by a left forward kick. As the masked man stumbled backwards by the blows, he reacted to the downward strike of the mace by jumping backwards.

Celik smirked at the change in momentum and his weapon transformed into an auto-shotgun. He took aim and fired multiple times, the shots ringing like repetitive thunder strikes. The assailant ducked behind several steel crates to escape the onslaught of dust infused buck shots. The lieutenant's shotgun was reloaded with another magazine of shells in one swift and fluid motion. So far, he had yet to see the masked man make an appearance again, but he was no fool. He kept his eyes peeled at the containers where the assailant had dove into, readying his weapon and preparing himself for any sign of movement

From behind the crates, Sasuke growled to himself. these non-lethal takedown requirement frustrated him, especially since he had realised his genjutsu from his Sharingan wasn't reaching to Celik thanks to the tinted eye-pieces. To top it off, the lieutenant's semblance seemed to unbalance him in close-range when he least expected it; it wasn't flashy but it was clearly enough to give Celik the upperhand.

While the buckshot's certainly weren't difficult to dodge, there was no doubt it would hurt like hell if he got hit by them. But it wasn't the same ammunition as it was back in his time; they used a different type altogether if his Sharingan picked it up correctly. It wouldn't tear into him, but it could leave nasty burns or frostbite depending on the special ammunition. Either way, he needed to get the pressure off him and he had just the solution to do that.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Fire jutsu!"

Sasuke shot out of cover and blew a salvo of flames at Celik, who was forced to duck behind another steel crate. The shinobi knew he couldn't keep up the assault without risking collateral damage so he quickly moved to a different cover. Now the positional advantage had vanished for the shotgun wielder as both were behind protection.

"Naruto, you finished taking out the guards and securing the hostages?" Sasuke asked into his radio now that the opportunity presented itself.

" _Yeah, I'm heading to your location now."_

In the next few seconds, Naruto appeared in an identical outfit to Sasuke, pincering Celik positionally. It didn't take long for him to realise that he was now at a tactical disadvantage. He raised his hands as his shotgun transformed back into a briefcase. Naruto slowly approached the man, until a whirring sound rang out and his briefcase suddenly dropped two silver balls at his feet that burst into white mist, shrouding the Celik from view. He then used the mist's cover and dashed to get overboard and escape.

"I'm in pursuit!" Naruto declared, as he followed the footsteps by sound and jumped overboard.

" _Alright, I'll secure the rest of the ship ,_" Sasuke replied.

It didn't take long for Naruto to see Celik's retreating back, so he dashed after him through the Vale streets in the Industrial sector.

" _Might want to be careful, Naruto,_ " Sasuke said, " _When I was fighting him, he was been making weird movements during combat. Might be his semblance thing Ozpin keeps talking about._"

"That why you took so long to deal with him?" Naruto asked as he leapt over a stack of crates.

" _Yeah, made me misjudge his attacks and my own. Probably better to knock him with ninjutsu in that case,_ " Sasuke replied, " _You might have to hold back on your chakra and use the weaker sets of ninjutsu_."

Naruto frowned; it wasn't like his only sets of ninjutsu were super high powered destructive ones or shadow clones. He learned a couple of supplementary ninjutsus as well as some more suppressive based ones as well. Did everyone really think he was some sort of walking weapon of mass destruction?

It wasn't long before both he and Celik were jumping over crates or scaling over short walls. Naruto, while faster than Celik, knew that if they were to reach a busier area, things would get complicated with the public involved. He knew he hadn't done ninjutsu for technically thousands of years, but it was worth the risk. His hands flew into a few seals before he stopped, aimed and slammed his hands down on the ground.

"Earth Release: Great Earth Wall jutsu!"

In a split second, a giant wall of earth shot upwards, a few meters in front the fleeing Superion officer; much to Naruto's dismay as he realised he definitely poured a little too much chakra into that ninjutsu, so much for not making a mess. Still, he wasn't finished, flying into another series of hand seals as he rapidly approached his target.

"Wind Release: Breakthrough jutsu!"

Naruto's mouth expelled a large gust of high velocity wind, taking Celik by surprise as he was preoccupied with the sudden appearance of a wall. He flew into the earth wall with a sickening thud before he stumbled backwards, concussed. Naruto took the opportunity to charge into the dazed man and the two crashed into the stone barricade once again, before Celik kicked Naruto away and scrambled to stand up with his right hand on the makeshift barrier. His weapon, however was a good several meters away thanks to the wind ninjutsu and there was no way to get it as the only obstacle stood up and immediately closed the distance between them.

Naruto's footwork continuously closed in on Celik who could barely mount a response due to the concussion. Just two punches and the criminal's guard crumbled as the Naruto's onslaught quickly beat him into submission and successfully knocked him out. Naruto relaxed. That hadn't been too hard. With one hand seal, Naruto dispelled the giant earth barricade leaving several chunks of dirt littering the street.

"Alright, Sasuke, caught the bastard," Naruto reported as he stretched his neck. That was pretty easy.

" _Okay, I secured the hostages. I'll call Ozpin in_."

* * *

Ozpin emerged from his car and checked his scroll; in a few minutes the Vale Police and Ambulances should arrive. Plenty of time to debrief his two new acquaintances, who had pulled off the mission quite impressively. No weaponry aside from flashbangs and smoke grenades to take out the patrolling groups and strong hand to hand combat capabilities. What was most interesting was these abilities they possessed; they reminded him of magic in the old days, only faster.

This mission more or less confirmed that they had no aura but a different form of energy that seemed to be molded into a more versatile source of combat power. This might be a problem if they were to be his 'students' for Beacon, he'll have to get them modified scrolls. Regardless, they seemed to have strong capacity of stealth and efficient at completing objectives.

As he approached the ship, the two masked men were standing at the dock like statues as they flanked a tied up, unconscious Celik.

"We've completed your mission," a curt voice said. That must be Sasuke, Ozpin deduced. "Well?"

"I think you two are definitely capable people, I want to trust you in that," Ozpin replied diplomatically, "I do think you'll be capable of completing missions I set out for you-"

"We said we'd do your missions, Ozpin. What I want to know is if you are willing to give us what we want," Sasuke interrupted with a step forward.

"That I will, in due time. Perhaps when you graduate Beacon?"

The tone of Ozpin's voice made it hard for the two shinobi to tell if he was joking or not, and it didn't improve Sasuke's mood at all.

"That was said in jest. Once you have completed enough missions or your time at Beacon is satisfactory and I deem you trustworthy enough, you'll learn everything, I promise," Ozpin rectified with a more serious tone. "Now, let's talk about tonight's result. Shall we?"

With that Naruto and Sasuke followed the old headmaster, their professional relationship taking root.

* * *

 **A/N: So I've managed to get a Beta Reader and thanks to him, he helped me brush up a lot of small mistakes and helped me improve the writing overall. If it wasn't for him, the general quality of this fic would be in tatters.**

 **Anyways, a few things to note is that the butterfly effect of Naruto and Sasuke's presence will be taking place very soon and you'll see differences to the general RWBY canon very early. I've been tearing at my head on how I'm going to make it work, but if it doesn't work, then that's the limit of my storytelling. I've already started writing it and I've lot to think about character dynamics so, here's to it!**


	3. Chapter 3

" _Ohh? Finally awake? " a melodious, feminine voice echoed in Sasuke's head. His eyes snapped open to find himself in a small room with a rather unique style he's never seen before. He was seated on a wooden chair with velvet red cushioning. In front of him is a wooden tea table with a chess board and a number of wooden pieces, each painted in black or white._

" _It was a lot of trouble to get you back… " the voice continued with if it had an air of annoyance. The Uchiha glanced up to see a voluptuous woman in a blue frilly dress with a golden bell hanging from her neck. He knew this was the person who had screwed everyone over. He lunged forward… or attempted to, only to find that he couldn't even move his limbs._

" _Now, now, a dog isn't allowed to bite back at it's master, " the woman admonished, "Or I will have to punish you!"_

 _Sasuke had his Rinnegan and Sharingan trained at the woman before him, but she seemed completely unconcerned. In fact, her smile dared Sasuke to even try the Six Paths techniques on her. He knew that there would be no point; she seemed to have him completely bound to the chair, even if he could see no restraints._

" _Good boy! " the woman praised mockingly. She held in her hand a small porcelain tea cup and sipped into it. "I'll make you a loyal dog out of you yet."_

" _What do you want? " Sasuke asked with a level tone. Right now, there was no reason trying to struggle. He was pretty damned sure he was dead, but if he was alive, then the person in front of him, better known as the Black Cat, was using him for something._

" _No need to hurry, the current game is very much in its infancy ," the woman replied as she focused on the board between them. One of the pieces moved without her touching it, and she tilted her head as if wondering she made the right move. "However we'll need to talk about our arrangements for your new role, dog."_

" _Role? " Sasuke asked warily. Last time his role was supposedly the 'renegade hero', intended to be a detriment to Naruto and his friends, but ultimately become a crucial point for the final victory._

" _Mhmm, while I'd rather have you collect dust in the Sea of Oblivion, you have a set of abilities and a mindset that may prove to be useful to me. There is a new set of rules, and you are one of my valuable pieces, " she said before she took a sip of her tea. "My opponent, as vile and uncouth he is, admittedly had an interesting idea to 'spice' up the game."_

 _Sasuke gritted his teeth. He despised how he was so easily manipulated in his life, and now that he had been resurrected, it was going to happen again_

" _Now, I've given you a bone. I've resurrected you with all your abilities intact. Your Rinnegan, Eternal Mangekyo, so on and so forth, you have it all. So, I expect some very impressive results out of you, dog, " she continued as if she were talking about the weather._

" _No drawback? I don't see how this benefits you. You are just giving me the tools I need to kill you. "_

 _The Black Cat giggled at Sasuke's threat. Her dull, midnight eyes bore into Sasuke's intricate ones. " Please, you? A threat? Hardly. However, it would be in my interest to keep you alive until you are useless. My opponent doesn't know that you are my piece, but he has ways of finding out if you are one or not. I suggest you be subtle."_

" _Who's your opponent? "_

" _None of your concern. Perhaps unsealing Naruto might be a good start ," she replied off-handedly. Sasuke wasn't aware that Naruto has been sealed. He recalled that he had died before the blonde ninja._

" _However, he is just a shadow of his former self in terms of your barbaric abilities. I am sure he is someone you trust, hmm? " the lady continued as she snapped her fingers. A porcelain teapot with a blue and green pattern materialised from nowhere and poured tea into a teacup before disappearing._

 _The Black Cat then gazed into Sasuke's eyes. With a snap of her fingers, he felt a rush of images cram into his head; multiple images of Naruto in a crystal, a modern-looking city, and a man with grey hair and brown spectacles._

" _Now run along, and do try to entertain me, " she said with a small smile. She then snapped her fingers again and Sasuke felt like he was being sucked into a black hole. _

" _...Milady, are you sure this is wise to give him that much information?" A humanoid ginger cat appeared behind the woman once Sasuke had completely disappeared from the room. He wore a butler's uniform and in his gloved hands was a plate of biscuits and shortbread._

" _What do you mean, Vonaya?" his mistress asked, as she picked up a biscuit and took a small bite out of it._

" _Milady, I believe Young Sasuke will unseal Young Naruto and seek to eliminate you," Vonaya responded. The Black Cat giggled again as she leaned back to stare at her servant._

" _I'd welcome it very much, I think it would be quite entertaining for me to see him and Naruto struggle to find a way to even find me," she replied. Her grin spread from ear to ear and a blush painted her cheeks. "If that's what it means to liven things up a bit, I may end up falling in love with them!"_

 _She cackled as she kicked her legs childishly. Vonaya merely bowed as he acknowledged his deranged mistress, before evaporating. His thoughts on this whole debacle had him worried._

* * *

Today was an annoyance, according to Sasuke Uchiha. Chattering students and the influx of noisy airships was more than enough to sour his mood for the rest of the day. What was even worse was that the only person in this world who he would call 'friend' decided that it would be a good idea to 'meet new people'.

Someone crashed into his back, but, thanks to his refined reflexes, he smoothly avoided losing his balance. The person who collided into him was a woman who had luscious blonde locks and quite a curvaceous body, wrapped in a brown jacket. Before he could say anything, the woman shouted an apology and she zoomed away to the auditorium.

The Uchiha sighed, patted down his black jacket, and was about to continue his walk until he was collided into again, by another woman. He didn't fall, but he was pretty sure his patience fell. This time, the woman had orange hair and a pink skirt. She gave out a sheepish apology, patted on his back a little too hard, and zoomed off.

"Sorry about Nora, she gets… energetic at times," an sympathetic voice said. Sasuke turned to see a young man with long black hair and a streak of magenta, tied into a ponytail. He adjusted his green tailcoat and He held out his hand. "Lie Ren."

Sasuke sighed; at least this person seemed far less hyperactive and crash-prone compared to his two unfortunate encounters. He was stuck here for four years, might as well make the most of it. "Sasuke Uchiha."

"Ren!" Sasuke and Ren turned to see the woman hollering for the latter as she waved her arms wildly.

The two gave a single firm shake. Ren nodded his head and said, "Until next time."

Sasuke found himself alone, walking towards the auditorium as he observed Ren chasing after Nora who was bouncing on the balls of her feet. Honestly, he felt a small amount of sympathy for his new acquaintance, that Nora girl reminded him a bit of Naruto when they first became a team, too much energy. Having to make sure a friend didn't do something stupid or crazy is not something even he would wish on his enemies.

* * *

 _Ugh… This isn't my day_.

Jaune Arc weakly stood up after hurling up his lunch. He was pretty sure that airships weren't supposed to be that shaky. The first thing he did once they reached Beacon? Throw up on the grounds. Way to go Barf boy. It didn't take long for him to overhear his would-be peers passing by him as they got off the ship, the new nickname tagged on to him.

The blonde felt a tap on his shoulder and he turned to see a smiling boy with black spiky hair.

"Heya, barf boy!" the stranger teased cheerfully. Jaune hung his head at that as he groaned at the jest. Even though he knew it was coming, it still sucked being addressed as such. "Heard you throwing up a storm!"

Jaune looked to see the boy fishing at his navy blue fanny pack. After a few seconds of rummaging, the stranger pulled out what looked like a blue candy container. He shook the container and a few small yellow droplets fell into his gloved hand.

"Here, it should help you feel better and all!" the stranger declared as he shoved the sweets into the taller boy's hand. "Oh by the way, the name is Obito!"

"Jaune, Jaune Arc," the blonde replied as he popped a few candies into his mouth, which was flooded with a mild lemon taste. "Just rolls of the tongue doesn't it? The ladies love it, and with my natural blonde hair, I am the charmer!"

Obito just gave a small chuckle and slapped on Jaune's back as the two made their way towards the Beacon courtyard. He could tell that the blonde was just trying to put on airs from his embarrassing display earlier.

"So, where ya from, Jaune?" Obito asked as he popped some candy into his mouth.

"Ah… just a small town from Mistral."

"Heh, you must've had hell of a ride from there, the whole ship must be filled with vomit!" Jaune's face fell at his new friend's amused smile.

"Oh, haha. Well, what about you?" Jaune asked with a slight pout. No one was going to let him live this down. Well, at least it couldn't get worse than this, he hopes.

Obito just gave a sheepish chuckle as he fiddled with his tinted goggles that hung at his neck. "Yeah…. I'm from the Vale orphanage. Spent my ass working hard to get to Beacon!"

"Oh… I-"

"Nah, don't worry about it!" Obito waved off Jaune's would-be apology with a humourless laugh. "The guys back at the orphanage really supported me, so I gotta do my best and all! Landed me here in the end so I just gotta finish the final hurdle and I'll be a fully-fledged huntsman in no time!"

Jaune smiled involuntarily, feeling conflicted. He definitely understood Obito's drive, but if he did well enough in one of the primary combat schools, then the black-haired kid was someone who had skills in the trade. Jaune was little bit envious of the people who legitimately attended _the_ Beacon Academy. The thing was, he had lied a little bit on what was required to enter the institute.

 _ **BOOM!**_

The thunderous sound caught them off-guard and they dashed to see a girl clad in red on the concrete ground looking very frazzled. The two boys gave each other a look as if they knew what each other were thinking, she was definitely in the centre of the explosion and she seemed to be muttering to herself.

"Uh… you 'kay?" Obito asked the girl as he held out his hand. Jaune peered over his shoulder also looking a bit concerned for her well-being.

The girl sighed and took his hand, "Yeah I guess, just had a bad running in with this girl and I exploded and then I-"

"Wait, What!? You _exploded?_ But how?" Jaune spluttered.

"Woah woah!" Obito exclaimed as he raised his hands. He tilted his head to a good look at the girl who was covered in soot, but otherwise okay. "Seems like you're good… how many fingers am I holding?"

The orphan held up two fingers, the girl's silver eyes focused onto his hand for a few seconds, before answering with a smile, "Two!"

"Well, looks like you're okay," Jaune muttered with a relieved sigh. "I'm Jaune."

"Obito, a pleasure."

"Ah… Ruby!" the girl squeaked out as she dusted off her black skirt. The three simply looked at each other, falling into an uncomfortable silence. Ruby was rocking on the balls of her feet, Obito's grin was fixed and sheepish, Jaune on the other hand seemed share the same face as the black haired boy.

"Aren't you the guy who threw up on the ship?" Ruby asked in an attempt to break the awkwardness. Jaune hung his head twice in less than twenty minutes as Obito started cackling.

"Damn right he is! Barf boy made a serious mess!" Obito replied teasingly as he plafully punched the taller boy's arm. "Jaune, you're famous before we even got into classes!"

Jaune could only groan from the orphan's teasing. This was not how he envisioned his first day at Beacon. He turned to Ruby with an awkward grin. "Guess you heard about that, huh?"

Ruby looked towards her feet; she didn't mean to embarrass Jaune, but from Obito's raucous laughter and the blonde's glum expression, she realised she missed the mark. Making friends without embarrassing yourself or someone else was a lot harder than it looks. Dealing with the Weiss girl and the black-haired girl earlier didn't work out so well. The boys on the other hand seemed more affable.

"So… I got this!" Ruby exclaimed as she pulled out what looked like a compact rifle that quickly transformed into a scythe. Obito and Jaune gave a low whistle and a jaw drop respectively at the imposing looking weapon the girl was now holding. Ruby grinned, the two guys were definitely impressed compared to her other encounters at Beacon so far.

The three began walking towards the inner areas of the campus as Ruby held her scythe out with pride.

"Wow! A scythe..." Jaune whispered as he walked around Ruby to look at the scythe from different angles.

"Yeah, looks awesome," Obito said impressed. His weapon has nothing on Ruby's in terms of intimidation factor.

The girl beamed, boys were completely drawn to her 'baby', "It's also a customizable, high-impact sniper rifle! I call her… _Crescent Rose._ "

The two guys glanced at each other. Jaune saw that Obito's eyes had a competitive gleam in them.

"Gotta say, I'm impressed. You forged it at your previous school?" Obito asked. He inspected the weapon in Ruby's hand and he'd have to admit it was well crafted. The way she seemed to carry it with ease would suggest light-weight materials, and very durable ones at that.

"Yup!" Ruby squeaked out with a nervous smile. She was glad that her two new acquaintances seemed to be genuinely interested in her weapon. "Oh, oh! What about you guys? What weapons do you have?"

Jaune could've sworn there was drool coming out from the corner of her mouth. With a chuckle, Obito whipped out his own 'baby'. The device transformed into a thick orange longsword in his hand. At the black pommel was a long, thin chain with a small silver bell dangling at the end.

"This is _Vald_ _Flame!_ Also comes as an assault rifle and flamethrower," Obito announced with a wink. He flicked his wrist and the sword transformed into a compact rifle, with the dust magazine sticking out from the bottom and a scope at the top.

Ruby jumped forward, her hand brushing over the weapon as she fervently examined every nook and cranny, blabbering, "Wow! Yours is amazing! Good magazine capacity and you seem to use fire dust a lot and - COOL! You got a sight fixture! I'm assuming it's probably a 1.5x scope for mid-range combat? Oh, look at that! You're using heat insulators as well? That's a pretty good idea!"

Obito chuckled sheepishly at the shorter girl's enthusiasm as she continued to chatter to herself about his sword/rifle/flamethrower combo. Once done, Ruby leaned close to Jaune with sparkling eyes. It took several seconds for the blonde boy to figure out what she wanted.

"Well… I got this," Jaune said, his pitch raising an octave. He drew out a simple sword, nothing extravagant like Ruby or Obito's weapons. However, that did little to deter the girl's ecstatic momentum as she swiped it from Jaune's grip and gave it a few test swings.

"You know, not a lot of people have appreciation for the classics! This is actually well made, good balance and length. If you can get the Lien, you could probably fit in a few dust mods as well!" Ruby explained as she looked at the sword from different angles.

Jaune gave a small laugh before he pulled out his shield, but before he knew it Ruby was in possession of it, doing shadow swings with the sword as well. Obito couldn't hold it in and laughed at the spectacle.

"Wow! You got a shield too! These babies are sooooo underrated. Kind of a shame not many people use them anymore," Ruby gushed more to herself than to the two boys.

"I kinda agree with her Jaune, yours may not be flashy, but they are pretty effective at the right hands," Obito said in order to cheer up the blonde. The taller boy didn't have the same pride in his own weapon as the other two did.

"Yeah, I guess. They're just hand me downs from my great grandfather," Jaune explained as he took his own gear back.

"Really? I'm sure your family would be okay with it if you added a few mods and stuff. Get a bit of versatility in your arsenal," Obito suggested. Jaune shrugged with uncertainty. He honestly didn't know if his family would be okay with it, but when he looked at the intimidating scythe and the powerful sword from his new friends, he couldn't help but be a little jealous. Maybe he would have to talk to his dad about it… sometime.

"By the way Ruby… Ruby?" Jaune looked around to see said girl switching Obito's sword into a rifle and back again. The blonde boy tapped the girl's shoulder and, with a squeak, she almost dropped the weapon, much to the indignation of the orphan.

"Ah hah… Sorry, I just get so excited about weapons, I'm like a weapons dork…" Ruby said sheepishly with a nervous laughter as she fidgeted. Obito and Jaune just raised an eyebrow at each other; they didn't mind it too much.

"Uhmm, by the way guys, we have to get to this Orientation thing, know where it is?" Obito piped up and picked up his sword. Ruby froze as she realised that she had just forgotten, something as had Jaune. The three looked around to see that they were alone in an outdoor area.

"Uh…"

It was then, they noticed, that they were lost inside the gargantuan campus of Beacon.

* * *

Blake sighed; who would've thought that, of all the days and years, when she decided to become a huntress in training would be the day she would run into one of the Schnee children? The Faunus knew that black cats were the epitome of bad luck, but this was just ridiculous. At least, the likelihood of the Schnee and herself being on the same team was astronomically low.

She decided to finish off the chapter of the book she was reading before that confrontation as she had some time before orientation. Until she felt a tap on her shoulder.

Blake rolled her eyes, a little annoyed, but whoever tapped her probably wouldn't go away without a response. She turned around to see a tall, blonde girl with four spiky pig-tails. What was interesting was that there was a fluffy brown tail protruding from her desert yellow skirt. A weasel Faunus.

Blake's cat ears twitched involuntarily. She was confident she hadn't seen any other Faunus walking up to the auditorium, and she had taken measures to hiding her cat ears so no one would notice her.

"Heard you telling off a Schnee. Gotta hand it to you, I like it," the girl said with an approving smirk. She held out her hand, which the cat Faunus took. "Temari Subaku."

"Blake Belladonna." The two shook hands and then continued their walk to the auditorium. "And, I try."

"Who would've thought that a Schnee would be attending Beacon this year?" Temari asked with a sigh. "Well, the odds of her being on my team is pretty unlikely right? Besides, if she does get on it, well she'll learn to respect me."

Blake didn't want to associate with anyone if she could help it. Temari seemed pretty friendly and the fact that she is a Faunus helped. Blake carefully marked her progress on the book before turning to face her fellow Faunus, who picked up the scent.

"So aren't you a..." Temari began, then noticed Blake shifted uncomfortably as she realised what the blonde was going to ask. Temari observed her body language before landing firmly on the top of the black-haired girl's head. Temari nodded her head as if she deduced why Blake seemed nervous. "Nevermind, tough road huh?"

Blake was somewhat grateful, maybe the confident introduction had thrown her off how sharp the blonde was. "I'd prefer you don't tell anyone."

"Haha, don't worry about it. My lips are sealed and I'm sure you have your reasons," Temari responded in kind, with a shrug. "I mean, look at me: my brothers told me not to hide it at all."

"Your brothers?" Blake asked.

"Yup! Two younger brothers! Both of them are in Mistral Performing Arts Academy."

"That sounds… nice," Blake responded. She wasn't exactly the best person to converse with, something Temari had picked up on but wasn't deterred by.

"Don't you have siblings yourself, Blake?"

* * *

Weiss grumbled to herself. Not even thirty minutes and she had experienced the displeasure of dealing with a few would-be peers, which ended up with her whole dress _being blown up_ and covered in soot. Her snow white hair was now laced with ashes and her equally white dress had several smudge marks she had unsuccessfully tried to rub off. To top it all of, some girl in black told her off and insulted her name.

First day at Beacon was already proving to be a bad experience. As she stalked through the courtyard, she failed to hear someone calling her.

"Hey! Wait up!"

Eventually, Weiss turned around to see a young blonde with whisker marks and blue eyes running up to her. She surveyed his combat outfit before asking one succinct word, "What?"

It wasn't uncommon for a boy to randomly run up to her and strike up a conversation. One of the things she had learnt was that it was faster to hear what they say and then strike them down. Most of the time, if not always, most boys would try to get 'on' with her simply because of her surname.

"Heard that explosion you got caught up in," the boy started as he handed her a small pamphlet with a map inside it, "Considering you could use a wash, there is a shower room nearby you could use!"

Weiss didn't answer immediately; this was perhaps the first time a male stranger had walked up to her and gave her a directions to where she could clean up as their first interaction. While she understood that the boy had good intentions, she had a feeling that he wasn't exactly someone who interacts with people 'normally'. At least he hadn't tried to pick her up like most other hormone-fuelled boys.

Deciding not to snap at him like she would do to many boys, she replied, "Thank you, but we should head to the auditorium for the initiation."

He looked a bit taken aback by the formal response, before giving a sheepish grin. Weiss knew it: he had temporarily forgotten about it.

"Ah… yeah… I knew that! I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" The blonde introduced himself and gave her a thumbs up.

Weiss gazed at the gloved hand before it moved to the grinning boy. Despite the fact that he was uncouth, he seemed to be someone that tried to help people and she couldn't fault him for that. She was a Schnee; how she acted could reflect on the company. She replied politely, "Weiss Schnee."

Naruto then nodded and started to run off. "I'll see you around!"

Weiss just stared as he ran. She wasn't exactly fond of the boy in any regard, but compared to the two girls she encountered earlier it had been a far better experience. With her mood slightly improved, she strolled to the auditorium.

* * *

" _After assessing some of your chakra abilities, it's come to my attention that we'll need to have you… suppress it in public areas," Ozpin stated as he looked at his black scroll. Naruto and Sasuke each raised an eyebrow, confused why the headmaster wanted them to not use a variety of skills. Granted, they both had access to a large number of ninjutsu, genjutsu and other techniques, many of them weren't discreet._

 _Ozpin leaned forward and elaborated, "Here in this world, huntsmen and huntresses don't display the same versatility or firepower that you two have demonstrated on your subjugation of a number of targets. While your abilities aren't exactly anything extraordinary, the fact that they don't necessarily have strong similarities will raise questions."_

 _The two shinobi then understood, true they've never really had to go all out. The differences between them and the typical huntsman were far too different. While the general populace wouldn't understand, people of power and by extension the Black Cat's opponent would realise. Unwanted attention, the reveal of their hand and of course the whims of the Black Cat were all causes for concern._

" _What do you suggest, old man?" Naruto asked. After weeks of conducting their own missions and some of Ozpin's, the blonde shinobi had stuck to this new nickname for their acquaintance. Ozpin didn't seem to mind._

" _I suggest that both of you use abilities with similar attributes and stick to them. At least during sanctioned operations. Covert-wise, it shouldn't be a problem," the headmaster suggested._

 _For Sasuke, this wasn't much of a problem. While his Rinnegan was under lock and Sharingan deactivated at will, he still had a large pool of fire jutsu that covered a lot of ground for him. His lightning jutsus could be guised under his weapon's ability, since he heard that dust could be used to augment them either as projectiles or coating._

 _Naruto, on the other hand, was a little grumpy about the news. During the Fourth Shinobi War, he had worked hard to master his Rasenshuriken, wind jutsu and earth jutsu, among others, so that he wasn't just a walking one-man army of destruction. He could use his combat knife with wind chakra for some pretty good cutting power, but as of yet, unlike Sasuke, he hadn't figured out what to use as his 'semblance'._

 _Ozpin then placed two scrolls in front of the shinobi. "Here are the two scrolls that I modified. They instead read your chakra levels in place of aura, but aren't as accurate at measuring it, I'm afraid, since I don't completely understand chakra. This is so that when you participate in classes, it should negate and issues with the absence of aura you two have."_

 _Naruto and Sasuke grabbed their respective scrolls and fiddled with them. While the Uchiha didn't have too much trouble with it, the Uzumaki ended up a little frustrated. It wasn't as if he could get Ozpin to give him a hundred extra scrolls, so he could learn how to use them via Shadow Clone Jutsu style._

" _Hey, old man, since the new students are coming in and we're joining, you got any suggestions?" Naruto asked. The two shinobi had long decided that they were going to need dependable allies that they could count on when it came to dealing with the Black Cat. Even if they knew almost nothing about what she could do, they were well aware that, if their past interactions were anything to go by, she dwarfed Kaguya quite easily._

" _That is not something I can tell you. However, I assure you that plenty of students here at Beacon have the potential to become formidable men and women… provided they put in the work," answered Ozpin smoothly._

 _Sasuke leaned back a bit; unlike Naruto, he wasn't a fan of using students or even being a student here. He did understand that building a network of allies could help though. Regardless, it was not like he had a better plan; for now, he may as well let it play out. "Okay, but there is something you can do for us. We've done a few of your missions, Ozpin, it's time you start scratching our backs a bit."_

 _With that, Sasuke placed his scroll on the desk, showing a list of organisations that the shinobi had taken interest in. White Fang, Atlas military, Atlas Torrenford Pharmaceuticals, and many more filled the contents. The headmaster took a brief look before giving a small sigh. He couldn't deny that they had carried out his missions and, from what he had witnessed, their own ones very well. Most of the time, they went very cleanly. For the ones that didn't, they had proven to be adaptable._

" _I suppose you are right, Mr. Uchiha. Give me a couple of days and I'll have Glynda mail you some dossiers of the organisations. Though understand, some of those are affiliated with us to some extent, we can't exactly give you everything," Ozpin said. Sasuke nodded; he had expected as much. The grey-haired man stood up. "The semester will start very soon, I suggest that you two choose which abilities you want to show the public as your semblance."_

* * *

"Sasuke!"

Said man turned to see Naruto walking up to him with his usual combat gear, except now he sported a black jacket with orange flames patterned at the bottom. The Uchiha internally groaned; even after everything, you couldn't separate the knuckleheaded shinobi from his orange.

"Today's the day, huh?" Naruto asked as he surveyed the incoming students. Sasuke gave a snort. If he were honest, he'd rather Sakura or Ino be on his team. The blonde shinobi gave a sheepish laugh, "I know they aren't exactly what we want, but we can't just choose."

The Uchiha just grunted as he lamented at the position they were in, "Initiation won't start until tomorrow morning, right?"

"Yeah, from the sound-"

Ozpin's voice suddenly carried through the auditorium, effectively silencing all students. His speech resounded on with a level tone, and some of the students started to whisper amongst themselves. Some were a little alarmed from the bluntness or harshness of his choice of words.

The headmaster continued on as if he couldn't hear and finished his speech before promptly leaving the stage without another look at his audience. A blonde, stern woman stalked up next and began advising the students on what to expect this evening before she cleared the stage as well.

The crowd started shuffling towards the corner of the large hall where a large number of rolled up sleeping bags were stacked. The two shinobi found it a bit strange being requested to sleep in the auditorium tonight. Some of the students went out to shower or grab food before they called it an early night.

"Well, I've yet to choose my 'semblance'," Naruto mumbled to Sasuke. The Uchiha raised an eyebrow, expecting the blonde to use something like Rasengan or Shadow Clones as his 'semblance'. For himself, he had decided his fire ninjutsu would fit nicely.

"Hn, worry about it tomorrow," Sasuke replied as he laid out his sleeping bag and settled in. "You still can use other techniques as long as they can't see or hear them."

Naruto shrugged and laid out his own sleeping bag. Sasuke was right, as long as his chosen 'semblance' was flashy enough, he could use other ninjutsus provided they were more discreet.

"Hey, Sasuke?" Naruto heard the man grunt in response. "Do you think we are doing the right thing… you know, all this?"

Sasuke remained silent. From the corner of Naruto's vision, he could see the Uchiha had his head turned away.

* * *

 _This is stupid_.

Sasuke had dealt with crazy training sessions before and he was pretty sure his fellow shinobi experienced similar. Orochimaru was… thorough when it came to his training, but this right here was stupid. Naruto didn't seem to care; Jiraiya was just as thorough if not more so in his methods.

In a single line, each student stood on a tile as instructed by their examiners. Naruto had his hands supporting his head from behind. Sasuke had his hands inside his pockets, a little annoyed at this whole situation. In front of the students were Glynda Goodwitch and Ozpin, briefing them about the examination.

"Good! Now take your positions!" Ozpin ordered enthusiastically. Soon, students were sent flying through the air. Some of them shouted in joy or surprise but none of them really displayed fear at all.

"See ya later, dobe," Sasuke muttered with a smirk and was launched in the air before Naruto could respond.

"... Whatever, teme." Naruto soon found himself catapulted into the air after his friend.

Further down the line, Temari had already planned out what she was going to do. She fingered her long rectangular looking weapon, knowing it would be useful for this situation. After all, she's pretty damn sure people won't be expecting her bladed fan.

Beside her, Obito nudged at Jaune hard, who kept barraging the headmaster with questions. The blonde looked a little peeved only to see a mischievous grin on the orphan's face.

"Relax, barf boy! We got this!" Obito said in complete confidence as Temari got launched. Jaune turned to see only Obito and himself left on the tiles. Before he could reply, the orphan was launched into the air, as he cackled in excitement.

Something inside Jaune broke. _I really bit off more than I can chew._ Next thing he knew, he was screaming in terror as he found himself flying through the air.

XXXX

Naruto dusted himself off after his unceremonious landing. Sure, he could do a bunch of flips or use his Wind Release: Breakthrough Jutsu to soften the fall, but he had never been one for finesse and just decided to harden his body via Earth Release: Iron Skin Jutsu instead. Around his landing point were several broken branches and a Grimm slowly dissipating away in black smoke.

The blonde shinobi sighed and started marching towards the marked objective; he could probably keep his earth ninjutsu active and sleep walk his way to completing the exam. It took a few minutes or so until he heard nearby sounds of battles and it wasn't metals clashing but rather roars of fire flaring up.

There was only one person who found an unnatural joy in lighting things on fire. Naruto rushed towards the sound of flames and the occasional clash of metal, expecting to see his Sharingan wielding friend. Instead of seeing a black blur breathing out fire or crackling in electricity, he saw Weiss dispatching a Beowolf with a flurry of thrusts before turning and conjuring several glyphs. The glyphs then expelled a salvo of fireballs at the charging Grimm that succumbed as it clashed with the projectiles.

Weiss relaxed her stance with a satisfied expression and turned to Naruto. The blonde saw her face fell and he couldn't blame her, he disappointed too.

"Uhh... Wesh, right?" Naruto asked with uncertainty.

"It's Weiss!" she retorted. If dealing with a pack of Beowolves the moment you landed wasn't annoying enough, someone who couldn't even remember your name might as well be the thing that tips you over.

"Ahh, my bad! So… guess we're stuck with each other for the next four years, huh?" Naruto said with sheepish grin, as he walked up to her with his arms behind his head. Weiss sighed as she sheathed her _Myrtenaster_. She couldn't say she was exactly thrilled to see who her partner was, but she could think of a few people who were definitely worse than the chuckling blonde in front of her.

"I suppose so," she answered evenly. She then turned and started marching towards the general direction Naruto had come from.

The blonde sighed, his experiences with women told him that they were generally either terrifying or very difficult. They didn't need a demon sealed inside them or super scary eyes to strike fear into him, and it seemed that the Schnee was very likely to be the latter. He dashed after her as he deactivated his Earth Release: Iron Skin Jutsu.

He eventually reached beside Weiss, easily surprising her though she hid it quickly. He folded his arms and asked, "So, since we're on the same team and all, what do you do?"

Weiss raised an eyebrow, she knew Naruto had arrived at the conclusion that she was very capable after seeing her encounter with the Grimm, as any huntsman-in-training would. She turned away and continued marching. "More than enough, now let's get to the ruins and finish this exam. I'm not going to get a bad grade because we decided to have some chatter about our abilities!"

"Hey! Since we're partners, it'll probably be better if we have an idea on what we can do!" Naruto retorted. After all, he had his fair share of experiences when working with people that were basically enigmas. It usually didn't work out well.

Weiss stopped once again. She considered his point and he was right. Both of them would have trouble coordinating strategies if they didn't know what each other could do. They were in an exam and it would be in her best interest for each of them to do well. After all, if she was going to be a leader, she was not letting her partner fail if she could help it.

"Fine, you're right," Weiss said, and she pulled out her rapier, letting Naruto examine it. "This is my weapon, _Myrtenaster_. I use all kinds of dust for a variety of attacks."

She then waved her free hand and a white glowing circle appeared next to her, emitting a low humming sound. She then thrust her rapier into the circle and shards of ice shot into a nearby tree. "This is my semblance; these circles have a variety of uses such as giving my dust form or improving movement."

She smoothly sheathed her rapier and gave Naruto a look of confidence. He could tell that Weiss believed herself to be a very talented individual. Her glyphs reminded him of Sealing Jutsus and so he decided to attribute it as similar to that.

"Well, what do you do then, Naruto?" Weiss asked as she placed her hands on her hips.

Naruto remembered that he hadn't exactly figured out what he wanted for his 'semblance' and now he had been put on the spot. The girl started to tap her foot and her face seemed to tense as she grew impatient from the silence. He could only curse his lack of foresight.

"Well… I can make the earth move…" Naruto answered in a way that sounded more like a question. Seeing that Weiss wasn't impressed at all, he coughed into his hands and repeated, "I mean, I can manipulate the earth!"

He then kneeled down and quickly prepared his ninjutsu, making a mental note to tone down his chakra use.

"Earth Release: Great Earth Wall Jutsu!"

An earthen barricade ascended from the ground a few metres away from them, reaching just below the canopy. As it grew, a few trees in the way were either uprooted or elevated. Naruto then released the jutsu and the wall crumbled. It left several chunks of dirt and branches where the mound once stood.

Weiss wasn't amazed, but she wasn't disappointed either. The ability to alter terrain quickly in any engagement could provide tactical advantages on the fly. Still, for Naruto to become a student at Beacon, he must have some sort of direct combat capability.

"Not bad, but what weapon do you use?"

Naruto simply pulled out his dagger and twirled it around before showing it to the young Schnee. Over the past few weeks in Vale where he had operated, he had gotten used to the dagger. He still preferred the kunai, but he had grown accustomed to it due to the similarities between the two weapons.

Weiss was a little surprised considering she expected a bigger weapon, but she had yet to see him in action. With the ability to manipulate the earth, she thought a weapon like a rifle or a blunt weapon would fit the blonde. So long as he wasn't a liability, she wouldn't have a problem. She huffed at Naruto's presentation and started marching towards the designated objective.

Naruto fought the urge to smack his head with his hand and decided to go along with his new partner. He finally started to see why had Shikamaru called all women troublesome.

* * *

Handling younger kids was something Temari was quite used to. Having two talented, younger brothers taught her a lot of caretaking skills since her parents would often be busy working. So, she wasn't exactly bothered by Ruby's rather hyperactive personality.

The moment a Grimm appeared, Ruby would rush straight to it with her scythe and happily destroy it with glee. When Temari decided to bring out her bladed battle fan, Ruby would squeal in delight and she even attempted to rob the blonde girl. While Gaara and Kankuro certainly didn't share the hooded girl's enthusiasm, Temari found her endearing in a way.

She looked up to see Ruby darting around the third pack of Beowolves, her scythe slicing through them effortlessly. Within less than a couple of minutes, the pack was no more and Temari finally managed to walk into the area with a small chuckle. Thanks to Ruby's spirit, Temari rarely had to fight as often as she would alone.

"You seemed to be enjoying this a lot," Temari said, amused.

"Yup! _Crescent Rose_ and I are invincible when we are together!" Ruby answered as she puffed out her chest. Temari shook her head before she rubbed her hand on Ruby's head.

"Well don't get too carried away! Leave some for me," the blonde demanded playfully.

Temari's brothers didn't show the same exuberance for being a huntsman like she did, instead they preferred to study and perform in the arts such as puppetry and painting. The hooded girl also felt a lot like what she would imagine having a little sister would be like.

Ruby, however, still stiffened as a thought crossed her mind. She glanced at Temari's face, then at the weapon strapped to the taller girl's back, before she hung her head.

"I didn't get to see _Kamatari_ in action!" she whined. Temari chuckled at the girl's unique crisis.

"You'll see it soon enough, we're partners for the next four years, remember?" Temari replied, which seemed to cheer up Ruby. "C'mon, let's get to it!"

The two continued on, with Ruby taking the lead. It didn't take them long to encounter a pair of Ursa several metres ahead. Ruby immediately had her scythe at the ready so that she could use her semblance and go on a Grimm killing spree, but that didn't happen as Temari shot her hand out in front of the eager girl. She then took out her fan and opened it up, revealing it in all of its glory.

"Might as well show you how I do it, Ruby!" Temari swung the fan with a battle cry. A torrent of wind rapidly made its way towards the Ursa, leaving several gash marks across the trees and on the targets. The Grimm slumped, and the weasel Faunus smoothly collapsed her fan and strapped it to her back.

Ruby had stars in her eyes; not only did she have a nice, cool girl as a partner, she had an awesome weapon that shot wind and cut its own path. She didn't think Beacon could get any better, she was glad that her partner proved her wrong.

XXXX

Sasuke had dealt with many personalities before, most of them tending to be… quirky at best. Of course, Naruto was the biggest one, with his obnoxious and aggressive demeanour. He also had to deal with the eccentricity of Rock Lee and the instability of Jugo. If anything, it made him mentally resilient to dealing with the 'minor insanity' from when he lived in the Shinobi age. However, that patience was tested today, as he was followed by what he deemed to be a female version of Naruto.

"Phew! Lucky we work well together! That could've been pretty _Grimm_!" Yang exclaimed as she nudged the Uchiha with a wink.

Sasuke's exposed eye twitched; she is definitely worse than Naruto. At least he didn't try to use a pun in almost any situation. While he was glad that she seemed to be able to take care of herself in terms of combat, her cheery personality along with her terrible jokes had him a little concerned for his future at Beacon. He tried to ignore it, he tried to accept the fact that it may have been Yang's way of breaking the ice, but it hadn't even half an hour and he was close to using Chidori on his own ears.

Yang had been trying to get him to speak more than two words and a series of grunts for the past half hour. She had no idea who he is apart from the fact that he is name Sasuke Uchiha and his vocabulary consisted of 'right', 'no', 'look' and 'yeah'.

As they marched towards their objective, a pack of Beowolf rushed towards them and Sasuke couldn't be more thankful for the encounter. If he had the chance to avoid Yang's consistent use of terrible slangs, he would take it.

"I'll deal with this," Sasuke said as his hands made a few seals. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

A stream of fire washed over the charging Grimm and with a few howls of agony, they fell to the ground, unmoving. Yang gave an impressed whistle, she had to admit that he seemed pretty capable. A little less talkative then your typical mute but that did little to deter her.

"Not bad, partner! Guess you were _fired up_ for the occasion!" Yang cracked, eliciting a groan from her partner.

Sasuke wordlessly continued trudging through the charred forest grounds. If he recalled correctly his team would consist of two more people. He had never been much of a religious person with his experiences of the Black Cat and the Fourth Shinobi War, but he might as well pray to whatever was up there and hopefully he wouldn't be stuck with two more loudmouths.

Yang strolled behind Sasuke, cheerfully humming. Sure, she hadn't find her sister to be her partner, who would've been her first choice, but the Uchiha wasn't so bad. All he lacked was a sense of humour, the ability to talk and a smile. She had four years to turn that frown upside down.

She was confident that there could be other students far worse than the one she had now. With that in mind, she took her place beside him to crack another pun, only to make him roll his eye. Yep, four years to turn that brooding boy into a social butterfly.

* * *

Jaune stood in front of Obito, a little ashamed of what had transpired between them.

The orphan shook his head. He wasn't exactly angry, but he was shocked. It hadn't taken him long to realise that the blonde boy had no idea what an aura was and after a few questions, realised that Jaune forged his way into Beacon. The injuries he had made it obvious that he hadn't used his aura to help with the landing. Things like that should've been taught at home or combat primary schools.

Jaune couldn't argue with how easily the Obito dismantled his lies. They had spent well over ten minutes with the interrogation, and Obito had managed to pick out a lot of inconsistencies in the blonde's story. Though he had no idea why Jaune would lie, considering how dangerous being a huntsman is, he imagined it was for a good reason. Obito wasn't going to ask since he seemed regretful of his actions.

Still, he sympathised with Jaune since the blonde boy was serious about becoming a fully-fledged huntsman. He had worked hard to get Vale to train as a true huntsman himself, with his orphanage cheering him on, and he couldn't let them down. Like Jaune, he hadn't joined a combat primary school. Obito had to get a retired huntsman to teach him the barebones of being one.

Obito was now left with a tough choice on his partner. To report him to the headmaster and Goodwitch, or somehow stay silent and help Jaune become a huntsman. As he surveyed at Jaune's depressed posture, he decided on the latter. In his eyes, huntsmen were supposed to help people with their problems and if that meant helping a green as grass trainee become a huntsman, so be it.

"Alright Jaune, this is what I'm gonna do," Obito announced. Jaune tensed up as he sensed the serious tone behind the orphan's incoming proposal. "I'll help you become a huntsman, but you follow my training instruction and you follow it to the tee. I'll keep quiet about this, but you gotta catch A.S.A.P."

Jaune looked up, shocked that his partner wasn't going to report him. Obito offered Jaune a chance to help him become a huntsman. A relieved smile spread over his face as he realised his dream of becoming a hero could be a reality.

"Thanks... I-"

"You don't have to tell me why, Jaune, I'm sure you got your reasons, I got mine," Obito said with a grin. He then clasped onto Jaune's shoulder and closed his eyes. "Alright, close your eyes. I'm going to unlock your aura so you better focus!"

Jaune followed the order and he heard his partner chanting to himself. Soon enough, he felt his chest radiated with warmth and Obito's grip slipped off his shoulder. He opened his eyes to see a faint yellow glow from his body, effectively putting him in awe. Obito on the other hand, sat down, winded.

"Okay, just give me like ten minutes, then we start moving. I'll take point. It'll take too long to teach you how to use your aura," Obito panted as he leaned back and folded his arms behind his head. Jaune simply nodded, still entranced by the new power he received.

* * *

 _Well, that was easy._ Blake and her partner, Pyrrha reached the ruins. In front of them were several pedestals that held what looked like chess pieces.

The two of them hadn't talked much but they were able to get to the ruins quickly and efficiently. Blake was aware that the Mistral native was considered a champion for a good reason, and her ability had shown through. They dispatched several Grimm with ease and the two worked well together despite only knowing each other personally for about an hour. While Pyrrha had tried to get to know Blake, she hadn't pried into anything personal, which Blake was quite appreciative of. When it came to battles, Pyrrha was precise and easily supported the cat Faunus in their encounters.

"We pick on of these and head back to the starting point, correct?" Pyrrha asked as she peered into the pieces carefully.

Pyrrha had so far enjoyed Blake's company. While she was certainly a quiet person who seemed to keep many of things to herself, she seemed to treat the celebrity with an affable but professional demeanour. What's more, the black-haired girl made no mention of Pyrrha's accomplishments, something the Mistral native found to be very different from how she was treated at home.

"Yeah, then we're stuck with each other for four years," Blake replied deadpanned; despite the comment, she had a small smile on her face that Pyrrha picked up on.

Pyrrha reached out for the white bishop piece and pocketed it. As they left the ruins, they heard a scream pierce the canopy, and from the sound of it, it was close by. The partners looked to each other before nodding and moving across into positions. As they waited, they finally saw two boys running towards them with a large Grimm hot in pursuit.

The Grimm was quite a rare one from Blake and Pyrrha's experiences. Its head adorned a large bony helm, with two huge horns protruding from the sides and ribs covering the chest like armour. The Grimm's four legs were protected by bony plates, and its overall appearance was very similar to that of a bull.

"A Tauros!" Pyrrha whispered. She signalled her new partner who nodded in response.

"C'mon Jaune, keep running!" One of the boys shouted in desperation.

Pyrrha carefully aimed with _Mil_ _ó_ in spear form at the charging Grimm and threw it, she focussed on her spear and to increase its velocity. Blake then jumped in using her ribbon at the a nearby branch to propel her forward towards the incoming Grimm. She also fired with her _Gambol Shroud's_ ranged form to accelerate.

The javelin slammed into the Grimm's head, cracking the helmet and wounded the Tauros, forcing it to stand on its hind legs. Blake took this opportunity and charged at the skull, slicing with her katana several times before gracefully backflipping away towards the two fleeing boys. Obito saw the opening and stopped his mad dash, his _Vald Flame_ quickly transforming into flamethrower form and it spewing out a stream of flames at the Grimm.

Pyrrha vaulted over the ruin walls and ran up to the group while recalling her trusty _Mil_ _ó._

"Now!" Obito roared, having noticed the red-haired warrior close by, and the three charged with their weapons in blade forms.

They sliced at the rear legs of the flaming Grimm and it collapsed with one last bellow.

"Wow…." Jaune was astonished by the sudden turn of events. He rarely saw a huntsman or huntress in action, but that was quick, efficient and, dare he say it, beautiful.

Obito had his weapon stuck into the ground as he used it as a support to stay standing. He glanced at the two girls who had made sure that the Tauros was eliminated before they turned to him. "Thanks for the assist, you have no idea how long that thing was chasing us."

"You're welcome!" Pyrrha said, glad that she and Blake had managed to help.

"So, you guys already got to the ruins?" Obito asked. Blake simply nodded in response as she sheathed her weapon. "Okay, guess that's where Jaune and I have to go, thanks again."

"Are you both alright?" Pyrrha asked, concerned. She had, after all, just seen the two boys running for their lives. Obito just waved her worries away and stood up straight in attempt to not look like he just was winded.

"Oh, we're just fine! Just a bad matchup, that's all. Jaune and I don't really have enough force to deal with a Tauros like that," Obito replied, and he lifted his sword onto his shoulder and started his walk towards the waiting Jaune. "Anyways, Jaune and I are almost at the finishing line, I guess. I'll see you guys after the exams!"

As the two boys departed towards the ruins, the girls looked at each other before sharing a short laugh. They might not be similar in many things, but both would agree that their partnership was already off to a wonderful start.

* * *

 **A/N: So, mixing the partners up, nothing big right? Special thanks to Rhavia! Her beta-reading really helped me sort out the inconsistencies and other issues.**

 ** _Vald_ is Authority or power in Icelandic**


	4. Chapter 4

When you got to know Sasuke Uchiha, you'll quickly learn that he wasn't someone that laughed a lot. In fact, there are so few things that makes him laugh that you'd wonder if he even had a sense of humour. Today, the students of Beacon were treated to that rare event for one reason: Naruto.

"Lie Ren, Nora Valkyrie, Obito and Jaune Arc. You have retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as team ORNJ, led by… Obito!" Ozpin announced, only for Naruto to howl in anguish.

Everyone's attention was turned to the crying former jinchuuriki, all but one person had no idea why he would be acting like this. Sasuke, however, laughed. It wasn't a good-natured laugh or anything like that; it was cruel, it was vicious. While he saw Naruto as a close friend, there were times where he laughed at his misfortunes. The team on stage had every right to cheer for their newly appointed leader and their success in becoming a team, but the whole thing was upstaged by the blonde.

"I… I demand to be on that team!" Naruto roared as he pointed at the headmaster defiantly. There was no way team ORNJ should exist without him in it. He stomped several times on the ground and flailed his arms before Weiss smacked him across the back of his head.

"You are making a scene! Quieten down or I'll make you quiet!" Weiss hissed, an embarrassed flush on her face. There was no way she was going to have a partner who has tantrums over trivial things. Naruto sank to the ground, now depressed at his fortunes and muttered how this world was unfair.

Despite the antics of the two shinobi, there was still one worrying thing in their mind as Ozpin called out the four new students. Obito resembled their former enemy from the Fourth Shinobi War. It could be coincidence, but for now both were thinking the same thing and vowed to keep an eye on the newly appointed leader.

The team in question were still quite happy with their setup as all of them sported a grin. Obito hadn't expected himself to be the leader of his team. He hadn't even considered himself a strong person when it came to fighting. As he glanced at his new teammates, he reassured himself that if the headmaster had a reason to choose him as a leader, Obito wouldn't let him down.

As team ORNJ left the stage, Ozpin cleared his throat to grab the attention of the students again. The television screen above the stage displayed four more students.

"Blake Belladona, Yang Xiao-Long, Sasuke Uchiha and Pyrrha Nikos," Ozpin declared. The four said students filed onto the stage. Blake and Sasuke's expression were neutral, Pyrrha smiled and waved as she was used to being in front of crowds, while Yang reveled in the attention of the crowd with a large grin and a more enthusiastic wave. Ozpin continued to speak, "You have retrieved the white bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as team BYSP, led by… Blake!"

Blake's face didn't change for a full ten seconds until she registered that she had become the leader of her team. Yang immediately smacked her back while Pyrrha placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, both happy for the young girl to be their leader. The Faunus, however, was dumb-founded. She had been pretty much convinced that Pyrrha would be the leader; after all, she was a famed upcoming huntress from Mistral. All Blake could do was hang her head in confusion, unsure of the sudden weight piled onto her.

"Nice!" Yang cheered as she hugged her newly appointed team leader, who didn't even respond. Pyrrha laughed, while Sasuke wasn't even interested in joining in the congratulations.

Blake remained despondent as she was slowly led out of the stage by her female teammates, and Sasuke trailed behind. The crowd chattered fervently, excited by all the teams that were made on the stage. Ozpin had to clear his throat so that the students would focus on him once again.

Weiss, Naruto, Temari and Ruby took to the stage next. What differentiated them from the other teams was that only one person seemed to be excited to be there: Ruby. The other three had mixed feelings about their new teammates but they all knew it was not the time to show it.

"And finally: Weiss Schnee, Naruto Uzumaki, Temari Subaku and Ruby Rose. You have retrieved the black knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as team WNTR, led by… Weiss!" Ozpin announced, and another round of applause resounded through the auditorium.

Ruby jumped on Weiss, giving her a bone crushing hug as she congratulated the young Schnee, who peeled her off with difficulty. While her first encounter with Weiss had been less than stellar, she was genuinely glad for her new leader. Temari and Naruto didn't even smile much less congratulate their new leader. The Faunus was gazing at the Schnee with distaste, while their only male team member glanced at his fellow blonde with a slight frown.

Ruby and Weiss left the stage followed by Temari and Naruto as they joined the student crowd, all assigned to their new teams.

As Naruto followed his new team, he felt a rough grip at his left forearm and turned to see a scowling Sasuke. He got the message and the two moved away from their teams to the corner of the auditorium. Ozpin's voice carried throughout the hall as soon as the crowd fell silent.

"You know what I'm thinking," Sasuke stated bluntly as he folded his arms.

"Yeah, Obito and Temari."

"Not only that. Your partner as well, she's a Schnee, she might know things about the White Fang," the Uchiha whispered.

As if he just realised why, Naruto perked up. Schnee Dust Company, they've been the target of White Fang sabotage, kidnappings and assassinations. While Weiss may have been involved as the target of the White Fang, it was unlikely she would have any critical intel about the terrorist organisation. Regardless, it was a start. Along with Temari and Obito, the amount of leads that had fallen into their laps was almost too good to be true.

Sasuke was the superior investigator of the two. Naruto knew that despite the Uchiha's many talents, he was impatient, however, the blonde deferred to his judgement when it came to these kinds of things.

"Sasuke, let's slow down a bit and not go interrogating our team on the first day," Naruto warned.

Sasuke flinched, because that was what he was going to do. He knew he wasn't the easiest person to work with, but the blonde had a point. Trying to fish information from their new teammates and allies from the first few days had risks. Methods such as genjutsu or Rinnegan jutsu are some of the things Naruto would be very adamant against. Sometimes he wished he could just Human Path everything and be done with it.

"We can still talk to Ozpin, he might know a thing or two about our team mates," Naruto suggested in hopes that it would lift the mood. "Besides, we got time. If we do it right, then they'll fight with us."

The Uchiha scowled at his friend. He wasn't wrong; they did this his way, the rewards were significantly larger. So were the risks.

"...Fine, we'll do it your way," Sasuke conceded with slight annoyance. Naruto nodded and turned to leave, only to be stopped by a grip on his arm. "But, if things go south, then we get what we need, whatever it takes."

Naruto stared at his oldest friend and sighed. For now, the blonde could only hope that Sasuke would change his way of thinking.

* * *

Ozpin and Glynda had known each other for years; in many cases, the trust between them was as strong as steel. Despite this, there were some things Glynda's leader remained very tight-lipped about. One of those involved Naruto and Sasuke, the two new acquaintances that popped out of nowhere.

The two displayed skills that baffled her. After all, she, with Ozpin, had overseen some of the operations the shinobi conducted. It wasn't the fact that their skills were powerful or illogical, but that the sheer versatility of the two shinobi was astounding.

From what she had seen, Naruto had always been the bruiser type. Fast and powerful, with the ability to crush through defences, and how he landed those powerful techniques was terrifying to say the least. Furthermore, his reactions, his ability to adapt, and how he could charge through most attacks without a scratch basically meant he was a juggernaut, and a speedy one at that.

Sasuke, on the other hand, was more precise and methodical. While he didn't display the same brute force as his partner, Glynda couldn't deny the fact that he made up for it with foresight and tactical prowess. To top it off, his versatility even outstripped Naruto's.

The two had proven to be more than just huntsmen; they were capable saboteurs and operatives. Their methods showed experience and surgical precision, something she hadn't expect from anyone under twenty. Even most huntsmen didn't show that much capability in the field.

The shinobi had just recently acquired from Ozpin, records of some of the newer students at Beacon. While she somewhat trusted them, their attention towards those students had her concerned. Her leader, despite knowing her position, promised those records without much resistance.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Glynda asked once the two were the sole occupiers of the room.

Ozpin glanced into his mug before setting it down and rising from his seat. It had been a long day for everyone, but he was hardly fatigued at all.

"I have quite a good idea on why they want those records," Ozpin replied in a light tone. Glynda frowned; while it was true that her leader had interacted with and overseen the two 'allies' more than anyone else, she was frustrated by the fact that she understood so little of the two shinobi.

"Is it about the Black Cat?" she asked, the mysterious entity that seemed to make Ozpin's expression stonier. She knew that Sasuke and Naruto had discussed with the headmaster on various occasions about this person. She observed some of these, and it was more than obvious that the Black Cat seemed to be some kind of instigator.

"I'm afraid so, Glynda."

The combat teacher adjusted her spectacles. The more she knew about this person, the more she became concerned about the behaviour of Ozpin and to some extent Naruto and Sasuke. It was hard to miss the tightening of the Uchiha's jaws or fists, the pained looks or disgusted frowns of the Uzumaki, and the frustrated sighs and head rubbings of the headmaster.

"Very well, I'll pull up the files for them," Glynda responded shortly as she took her leave from the office. She made a mental note to herself to investigate this 'Black Cat' that seemed to trouble the three.

* * *

Weiss led her team to the dorms after a much needed dinner at the cafeteria as Ruby had tried to 'interrogate' her and her partner about their weapons. while the weapons were locked up in the armory, the white-haired girl was amazed at how Ruby decently pinpointed what _Myrtenaster_ looked like and some of its features. Temari was silent, only putting in a few words when Ruby decided to interact with her.

Today had been very eventful. Taking on several Grimm and being appointed leader was something she expected to happen, but before the exam, she hadn't considered who her teammates might be.

Her partner happened to be just as uncouth as she expected when she first met him in the exam. In terms of combat, he had proven to be competent. How he interacted otherwise was something she found little appreciation for and he tended to be slow at times. It did irk her how he was the type of person to charge into the fray and punch a Grimm in the face as soon as possible, and how he had soon started calling her 'Princess'.

Despite his straightforward approach to combat, he had easily worked with how Weiss operated, much to her surprise. When they had to dealt with more difficult Grimm, he had erected walls for her glyphs to gain tactical advantages. It had become clear that as they neared the end of the initiation that Naruto was very energetic as he hadn't even broken a sweat.

Ultimately, she was confident that she could turn Naruto into a fine huntsman by their second year. He had the strength and capability, she just had to get him to follow some well planned strategies and he would be an excellent partner.

Ruby, however, wasn't exactly Weiss's first choice as a teammate, or second, or third either. It would be easier to categorise the younger girl as a person she didn't want on her team. Regardless, the red-clad girl was and if there was one thing the leader could pick out as a good quality, it was her enthusiasm. Weiss hadn't seen her in combat and the short interactions with her in the first day had left a lot to be desired. With that level of gusto and that she passed the initiation, the Schnee was confident that she could turn their youngest member into a very capable huntress.

Weiss's biggest concern was Temari, someone she had little prior knowledge of. The only thing she knew was that the blonde was a Faunus and Ruby's partner. She sighed at her misfortune at being put on the same team as her. It was no secret that there was bad blood between the Schnee family and the Faunus, that was the worrying thing with this team. Most Faunus would end up in the White Fang, in her opinion. Despite that, if Temari had made it to Beacon, then Weiss could consider her to be an exception.

Soon enough the group reached their designated room, and inside their luggage was stacked neatly beside their beds. There wasn't a lot of room, just enough for four desks and beds and one small bookcase, and between the two middle beds was a large window overlooking the campus. If there was one thing the whole team agreed on right now, it was that the room absolutely did not have enough space.

"We can rearrange the stuff, should get more space that way," Temari suggested as she placed her hands on her hips.

"Agreed, maybe we can even decorate at the same time," Weiss said with a nod. Doing both was more efficient after all. Naruto merely shrugged while Ruby cheered in agreement. With that, team WNTR set about on their first task as a team.

Weiss had brought a lot of things from home; clothing, dust, artwork and many other things. She would miss her own wardrobe, but it was not like Beacon was swimming in money that could provide individual rooms for their students. As she placed her favourite artwork over her bed, she turned to see Naruto moving his bed around at different angles. She then noticed how there was a distinct lack of personal items at all. All he had was a duffel bag which she would assume contained extra clothes and a weapon maintenance kit of some sort.

"Is that all you have?" Weiss asked the male member of her team. The boy looked up and grinned sheepishly with a nod. She looked past him to see Ruby and Temari taking various items from their luggage and placing them nearby for their own tastes. She decided she would deal with Naruto's lack of personal effects later because it was clear that even without her partner's touches, the space issue was becoming prevalent.

"Stop! Stop!" Weiss commanded. Her team focused on her, their faces lit with curiosity or, in Temari's case, annoyance.

"This isn't going to work, we have too many things and it is making it crowded," their leader stated, only to see Temari fold her arms and raise an eyebrow with a pointed look at Weiss's possessions. The Schnee coughed into her hand and continued, "We might have to forgo the decorating."

"But… what if we do bunk beds? We'd get a lot of spaces then!" Ruby suggested with a large smile.

"That sounds dangerous," Temari replied with concern, something Weiss agreed with. Ruby visibly deflated at her idea being shut down.

"What if we place the beds in the corners and throw out the desks?" Naruto piped up, which only received his partner's ire as she rounded on him with a glare.

"Then how are we going to study or finish our homework?" Weiss asked rhetorically, only for her partner to scoff at the idea. Homework did little to prepare people for the dangers of the outside, according to Naruto.

"We can put the beds in the corner and put the desks next to the window," Temari proposed after a minute of silence. It would make it easier to study together.

Weiss considered the idea before nodding stiffly at the Faunus. With a cheer from Ruby, the four got to work. After ten minutes of moving the furniture around and placing their personal effects, the team stood back to look at their handiwork. Clear paths to the bathroom and closet, decent spaces and their personal touches in their own corners felt homelier.

In Weiss's corner was a large art piece with an intricate frame, and a small crystal figurine sat at her desk. Her white luggages were stacked at the foot of her bed. There were simply far too many things for her to place in the room.

On Temari's side was a small family portrait that hung in the corner showing her younger self and two young boys. On the adjacent wall was a fan that was framed in varnished wood and painted in orange and yellow, reminiscent of the desert.

Ruby didn't have much except for a massive pink blanket and a small brown plushie. At the foot of her bed was a case and a box that was filled with all kinds of mods and spare parts for her weapon should she ever decide to give it some extra love.

Naruto, on the other hand, had a completely barren corner save for the duffel bag beside his bed.

The red hooded girl quickly dug into her luggage and pulled out a number of hygiene items and a set of pajamas. She zoomed for the showers while declaring, "Dibs!" before any of her teammates could even react. Temari and Naruto chuckled while Weiss rolled her eyes at their youngest member's antics.

"What a day," Weiss muttered, more to herself than to the others. She flopped onto the bed and stared at the blank ceiling.

"Wasn't that bad. We did pretty good out there, Princess," Naruto replied with a chortle. Weiss groaned at her nickname. Chalk it up to another annoying factor about her partner. She heard the snort from Temari's side of the room before her Faunus teammate also flopped on the bed.

"Well, we passed. Guess it's only gonna get harder from there," their male teammate continued wistfully. Weiss nodded to the statement; Beacon was known for its high workload but she was more than prepared for anything the school was going to throw at her. So far her teammates, Temari included, weren't so bad at all.

Little did the newly appointed leader and Princess know, Naruto had never referred to Beacon's curriculum.

* * *

Blake flopped onto her own bed. Today had been beyond her expectations. Sure, the initiation had been easily completed, but she hadn't thought she would become a leader. She was confident in her abilities; she had lead several missions as a White Fang member with success and most of her former comrades had looked to her with respect.

This time, her team weren't passionate members with a cause to fight for. They were students who were going to be huntsman or huntresses, prepared to put their lives on the line for the public. Now that she had time to process her newly appointed position, she glanced to her teammates as she hid behind her hardback novel.

Pyrrha was softly humming to herself as she inspected her own baggage. The Faunus was glad to have her as a partner. She was experienced, professional and friendly. Blake heard how many of the students wished that they had Pyrrha as a partner and with good reason. Her time with the red-head in the initiation proved that she lived up to her reputation as a champion.

Next were Sasuke and Yang, the former sitting at his desk while he desperately tried to ignore the latter, who badgered him with various questions.

"So… what're you reading?" asked the blonde in a sing-song voice as she shouldered into her male teammate. He didn't respond, so she instead swiped the book to take a look at the cover. " _Faunus, Bloody Revolutions_ … Didn't peg you for a history nut."

Blake's eyebrow raised at the mention of the title. It also caught Pyrrha's attention and she turned to watch the other two with a small frown on her face.

"That's a _brilliant_ book for Faunus history, you know that?" Yang asked with a sigh. Blake's lips twitched upwards at the dripping sarcasm from the buxom girl's voice.

Sasuke sighed as he stood up. He didn't make any effort to take the book back but instead folded his arms and leaned back on his desk. "Why is that?"

"Those kinds of books hardly tell the truth," Pyrrha chimed in with a hard tone. "They skew the facts and the evidence to suit their narrative. They do nothing but belittle Faunus."

"She's right. Nowadays, Faunus stuff usually ends in a… well… mess," Yang commented as she leaned back on her own desk.

"Those books often aimed to elicit response from many Faunus groups," the red-head elaborated sadly. She sat on her bed and gazed intently at the sole male of the team. "Back in Mistral, when a book like this appears in stores, protests would be the expected reaction. Escalation of those protests aren't uncommon either."

Yang scratched the back of her head as she uncomfortably looked at the book she held. She placed it down on her own desk and muttered somberly, "Yeah… I remember a few months back there was a pretty bad riot at Mistral. Heard some people died there."

"That is correct," Pyrrha mumbled.

Blake closed her eyes as she remembered that event. She wasn't at Mistral during the incident, but she saw the media reports and photos that were now etched into her mind forever. The images of broken bodies and trashed buildings were so vivid that she felt empty from all the violence. Both Pyrrha and Yang's eyes were focused on the ground; it must have been an event that had shook them all.

"Alright… I see where you're coming from," Sasuke finally said; he surveyed his teammates' gloomy disposition. "I still need to look for sources about the Faunus history."

"No worries, partner!" Yang declared with gusto and a grin; Blake almost perked up at the one-eighty in her mood. The blonde slung her arm around the boy, which made his face twitch with annoyance. "I'm pretty sure there is a book out there or someone who knows a lot about Faunus history!"

Blake huffed and jumped off her bed as she started digging through her shelf of books. She could tell that her team's eyes were on her as they stopped talking. After a minute of searching, she grabbed the plain blue tome and tossed it to Sasuke.

" _The Road of Hardships and Suffering_?" the boy read out with a raised eyebrow.

"That's the book you should be reading for Faunus history," Blake supplied. It seemed Sasuke was somewhat of a blank slate when it came to the subject. If it meant that he got an objective source to the history rather than one that's aimed to make readers less sympathetic to the Faunus, she would take it.

"Yes, the author is a well-known historian. Her books are very consistent and true to the facts out there," Pyrrha said with a nod.

Yang shrugged, she wasn't exactly a history buff, but it seemed Pyrrha and Blake knew their stuff when it came to the subject. It was definitely better than the previous choice Sasuke had.

"Well, guess it's time to hit the bath! I could definitely use it!" Yang declared as she grabbed her necessities and occupied the bathroom.

With the blonde no longer in position to annoy him, Sasuke sighed in relief and nodded to Blake and Pyrrha in thanks, before sitting back down at his desk to continue his study of the subject. The Mistral native smiled lightly as she turned back to her previous task of inspection.

Blake smiled to herself now that she had interacted and seen more of her teammates. It seemed Yang was a very outgoing person that can read a room well. The leader had expected her to be an extrovert and was a little surprised find out that she knew about some of the problems the Faunus faced.

Sasuke fitted with her expectations. Reserved, calm but open-minded. Blake could tell that he was also very serious with what he put his effort into, and it seemed that he was willing to study the subject rigorously.

Blake slid onto her bed with a small smile on her face. She could probably get along with her team, they seemed to treat each other and herself amicably at least. She picked up her novel and continued reading. It was time to see how Ryusuke would declare his love for Satoshi.

As she read the novel with enthusiasm for a good twenty minutes, she heard someone calling for her. She felt a little annoyed; it was getting to the good part where Ryusuke and Satoshi were going to make steamy love in the hot springs! She turned to see Sasuke standing beside her bed with the book she lent him.

"Blake, do you hap-"

"Aww yeah!" Yang's voice filled the room as she kicked the bathroom door open, completely energized. Her curvaceous body was wrapped in a white towel, showing off her toned legs. She sauntered towards Sasuke and winked at him, then bumped his hip with her own before she headed towards her bed.

Blake watched Sasuke's face twist from surprise, to annoyance, to resignation. He rubbed his forehead as he started to trudge back to his desk, "Nevermind, I'll talk to you later."

The Faunus held in a snort at her teammates' little exchange before she delved back into her novel. After all, she had to find out what would happen next.

* * *

Naruto was in a sour mood. First, Weiss had berated him for not know how to tie a tie when he had no idea what that was, then Sasuke had been more interested in his scroll thanks to the files sent from Ozpin, and and now he was in a classroom after so many years being lectured by Professor Port. It was boring, his fellow students even agreed as he noticed some of them had taken a quick snooze or doodled in their notebooks. Unlike them, he couldn't partake a snooze lest he receive the wrath of his partner.

"And so, with my trusty axe, I circled the Beowolf, ready to clash…" Port narrated with gusto.

Naruto tried to keep his eyes open and his back straight, but that book of his was starting to look like a really nice pillow. His head felt heavier, his spine felt more flexible as time went on, and all he could do was find bliss in his 'pillow'. A sharp kick to his shin stiffened his back as he jumped up, startled.

"Excellent! Mr. Uzumaki, come on down, don't be shy!" the old teacher exclaimed as he beckoned the shinobi forward. Naruto turned to see his partner glaring at him quite venomously.

With a sigh, Naruto trudged towards the front of the classroom. Once he reached the teacher's side, he heard Ruby and Temari cheering him on and caught sight of Weiss's expectant look.

"Good, change into your combat gear. I'll prepare your opponent!" declared Port.

In ten minutes, Naruto was set, staring at a rattling cage next to the old man, who stood with his weapon at the ready. Naruto flared his chakra and made a hand seal. He would just handle whatever was in that cage quickly.

Naruto activated the Earth Release: Iron Skin Jutsu; he felt the chakra flow under his jacket and gloves. With a curt nod to the professor, the older man released the locks.

A Boarbatusk bellowed and immediately charged at the blonde who stood his ground as the two clashed.

"Oh ho! Impressive strength, Mr. Uzumaki, not a lot of people your age would take a charge and stay standing like that!" Port praised exuberantly.

Naruto ignored the man and punched at the Grimm's head with his right hand. He felt the Boarbatusk attempt to pull away, but his grip on the tusks was too tight. Again, the shinobi slammed his fist into the same point, cracking the skull. The Grimm finally pulled off and stumbled backwards from the blows.

"Go for the belly! Go for the belly!"

"Yeah, kick its ass!"

"Its head is too hard, bro! You need to hit it from below!"

Naruto grumbled as the whole class started 'advising' him on how to kill the Grimm. It wasn't like the fight was difficult in the first place. Keep punching it and it would literally crack wide open. People just don't appreciate the classic fisticuffs.

The Grimm shook its head and snorted as it rounded on the shinobi. He thought the Grimm in general were mindless. The ones he had killed with more powerful attacks didn't seem to display any form of battle sense. This boar monster, however, looked like it was trying to find a better angle to attack. Well, either way, he knew the Boarbatusk had no way of surviving the fight.

Naruto got impatient. If the Grimm wasn't going to attack, then he would take the initiative. His hands flew into a few hand seals and slammed on to the ground, jutsu prepared and his face plastered with a manic grin.

"Earth Release: Enclosing Cage Jutsu!"

The room trembled as several rectangular stone walls burst out of the floor, surrounding the two combatants. Most of the observers screamed in alarm from the sudden change of structure. Naruto couldn't help but snort at the development. He missed the freedom to go crazy with his jutsu.

Weiss sighed in frustration as her partner decided to destroy one half of the classroom with his 'semblance'. There were many ways of handling the Boarbatusk in her opinion, but deciding to wreck a classroom as collateral was as step too far. Ruby and Temari, on the other hand, cheered harder at the flashiness of his techniques. Sure, it wasn't anything like their leader's glyphs or shining projectiles, but it was big and crazy enough to excite them and their classmates.

Sasuke grumbled; he had been enjoying the relative quietness while he studied the files of his fellow students and other organisations. He hoped Naruto would just finish the fight quickly, so the class would go back to being filled with the white noise that was the professor's droning. He rubbed his forehead as he felt a nudge from his partner, who seemed to enjoy this whole event way too much.

"Okay," Naruto said to the Grimm as he stretched his neck, "Just you… and me."

The blonde wasn't sure if the boar monster understood what he said, but it seemed to answer with a bellow and charged. The shinobi knew that the makeshift walls blocked the sights of the witnesses, so he held out his right hand and focused as he deactivated his Earth Release: Iron Skin Jutsu. Chakra rushed towards the hand and started forming an orb that emitted a low humming sound. He charged, his hand held high, ready to eliminate his opponent.

"Wind Release: Rasengan!" Naruto shot towards the Grimm's head and his jutsu grinded through the skull. The Boarbatusk squealed in alarm, being pushed back as the orb expanded into the hapless monster.

Naruto stood over the unmoving Grimm and released his earth jutsu. The class was soon greeted by a warzone, with Naruto and a corpse that seemed to have its head carved or grinded out. No one had really seen what happened inside the stone cage, but it was clear that the representative of team WNTR had successfully dispatched the Grimm.

"Excellent, young Mr. Uzumaki, though it could do without destroying my classroom!" Professor Port congratulated jovially as he clapped his hands. The class soon followed with a couple of whistles, courtesy of Ruby. "Well, I think that is the end of your first class here at Beacon. I'll have to ask Ms. Goodwitch to repair the room!"

As the students filed out of the classroom, many of them whispered excitedly about the fight between Naruto and the Grimm. Some speculated on his abilities while others talked about how they would've handled the battle.

Naruto could only grin sheepishly as he felt his leader glare even harder at the back of his head. He only knew Weiss for less than a week, but he had a pretty good idea what was going to happen in the next few minutes. Perhaps he should be less reckless with his abilities from now on, at least during school.

* * *

"Well, now that you are done being an idiot," Sasuke began as he stirred his spaghetti bolognaise, "We got work to do tonight."

"Just so you know, I kicked that Grimm's ass," Naruto retorted with his arms folded.

"By destroying half the classroom, great work."

"Well I…" Naruto trailed off, before he cursed himself. Today had been going splendidly

He thought taking out that Grimm would blow off some steam, it only seemed to irritate his leader and amuse his fellow shinobi even further. Weiss was quick to lecture him on collateral damage and why it should be avoided, but, it got a few chuckles and jeers from the rest of the class. It wasn't like he could argue back either, he had pretty much destroyed half the classroom with one technique just so that he could use his other jutsu. Sasuke only sneered at Naruto for 'taking too long because he could've killed the Grimm with a well-placed kick'.

He stabbed his fork at the dumplings he got for his lunch and chewed glumly.

"We're heading to the Industrial district," Sasuke continued briskly.

"Why is that?" Naruto asked. Unlike Sasuke, he wasn't as up to date with the investigation. However, he couldn't get an answer as he felt a presence behind him.

"Hey Naruto!" the cheerful voice of Ruby piped up as the girl sat next to him with her tray of yellow pudding. "That was so cool with what you did to that Boarbatusk! I think Weiss was too hard on you with your fight!"

"Thanks, Ruby," the blonde replied. At least there was someone on his team that had enjoyed it.

"Wish I went instead, didn't realise there was going to be a fight until you were already called up," Ruby said gloomily. After a few seconds of gazing at her pudding, she realised that another person existed at their table. She squeaked a little and scratched the back of her head as she smiled at Sasuke nervously. "Didn't see you there, haha… umm…."

"Sasuke," the Uchiha supplied smoothly with a raised eyebrow.

"Ruby!" the girl said with a smile. She dug into her pudding and whimpered at the sweet taste and fluffy texture.

"By the way, Sasuke, just send the me the details later," Naruto said as he deposited another dumpling into his mouth. Sasuke just grunted in affirmation and focused on his own food.

"So, Ruby, where's the others?" the blonde asked. Ruby paused her assault on the pudding and pondered for a few seconds.

"Well… Temari said something about going to the library, not sure about Weiss though," she answered as she tapped her chin. "Besides, I can't find Yang; Obito and Jaune disappeared off somewhere so… you're the only one I know here."

"Do my ears deceive me!?" a new voice piped up. Ruby perked up while Sasuke groaned as Yang sat down next to him with a tray of burgers.

"Yang!" the younger girl exclaimed with a grin, getting a wink from her sister. In the next few seconds two more girls flanked Yang. Ruby froze in response to the sudden number of strangers that appeared before her; she had never been very good with new people.

"Oh, right! This is Blake and Pyrrha!" Yang exclaimed as she gestured towards the two girls as they sat down. "Blake, Pyrrha; this is Ruby and… Naruto, right?"

"The one and only," Naruto replied with a grin. Ruby relaxed. it seemed like the two newcomers were nice people, after all, they were on Yang's friends.

"Your battle with the Boarbatusk was impressive, Naruto," Pyrrha complimented, which made the blonde boy grin. "Where did you learn such a fighting style?"

Sasuke gave Naruto a pointed look and he knew what the Uchiha was trying to say.

"Umm… my godfather taught me everything I knew," he answered. It was somewhat true, Naruto had never been a good liar.

"Wow, I kinda like your style though. We should spar sometime!" Yang said as she leaned forward with a grin.

"I, too, would like to challenge you some time," Pyrrha followed up with a small smile.

"Sure, sounds like fun!" the blonde boy replied. These guys seemed pretty excited at least.

"No fair! I want to spar against you too!" Ruby muttered as she pouted once again.

Naruto grinned; seemed like Sasuke's team were a capable bunch of students. He had no idea how Ruby and Temari fought, but if Weiss was any indication of how a Beacon student fights, then he was confident that his teammates were solid combatants, just inexperienced.

The group chattered away about various topics such as their previous lesson. Sasuke leaned over to Blake, who was more interested in her novel than the conversation.

"Blake, about the Faunus history," he began. She turned her head slightly to show that she was listening. "I couldn't find anything about the White Fang. Do you know any books where I can read up on them?"

The cat Faunus remained silent. She wasn't sure why her teammate would be interested in the organisation. In fact, it made her a little uneasy. She snapped her book shut as she tried to think of a way to answer him. There weren't any objective books about the White Fang. She was sure that he was interested in the Faunus history, but last night he made no mention of the organisation until now. Could it be from the media reports? Almost all incidents with Faunus usually had White Fang's prints all over it.

"Why do you want to know about them?" she asked, her golden eyes gazing into Sasuke's lone onyx one. "There isn't exactly a book about them."

"Hn… extra credits," Sasuke smoothly answered. "Guess I'll have to look up some archived media reports."

Blake's cat ears twitched; if he saw those videos, she was worried that he might end up having a worse view of the group overall. The BYSP leader believed that the majority of the White Fang were misguided and overzealous in their attempt to fight for equality. Some of the recent news reports did not paint them in a good light. They had been touted as a terrorist group for quite some time.

Blake closed her eyes to resolve herself and said, "That's not a good idea, the media just calls them a terrorist organisation thanks to their bias."

"I see," Sasuke muttered with a nod and simply turned to focus on his spaghetti.

Blake wasn't sure if she was successful as the boy was hard to read. At least he wasn't pushing any further, for now.

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke stood on the roof of a warehouse, the broken moon above them was the only light in the district. They were geared in their covert outfits, ready to execute their operation for the night. After having their shadow clones take their place at Beacon for the time being, no one but Ozpin and Glynda knew that they were a street away from the docking bay of a Schnee warehouse. The two adults were likely observing silently through the video feed their helmets provided.

Sasuke had explained to Naruto that he believed the Schnee warehouse might be the target of a criminal group. The pattern of heists over the past months typically targeted locations that held a sizeable amount of dust in their stores. What further interested the Uchiha was the fact that all other possessions such as computers, scrolls and Lien were virtually left untouched. It was a strange because no ordinary group would leave other valuables around. That only meant one thing: the group had something specific in mind that they were going to do with the dust.

Dust, from what Sasuke understood, was some sort of energy crystal that could be used for a variety of things. Any person or organisation would benefit if they suddenly had a large stack of it sitting in their laps. If a criminal group was after dust, then it could be for market throttling or making weapons. So far, the only terrorist group he was aware of was the White Fang, so there was a likelihood that they would appear tonight.

"You sure we got the right place, Sasuke?" Naruto asked. Sasuke merely grunted, "I mean, I get that you are doing all the work." His friend turned towards him, but Naruto was sure that whatever expression he had behind that mask was anything but positive. "But what if you have got it wrong?"

"You're saying you can do better?"

"...Probably?" Naruto could've sworn he saw a deadpan expression behind the mask. "Okay maybe not, but my point still-"

"Wait! I see movement," Sasuke muttered. He saw several people sneaking around the SDC warehouse, and they appeared to be wearing white masks and dark hoods to cover their identity.

Naruto paused to bashfully look at his partner and he could only imagine the expression behind the mask.

"So... doesn't that look like… White Fang uniform?" he asked. The Uchiha grunted, looked like it was showtime for them.

The plan was simple: wait for whoever was pilfering the warehouse to do their thing, then follow them to their hideout. Simple, easily executable and most important of all, no need to engage with the enemy until then.

As they spent half an hour observing the White Fang members moving crates of dust from the warehouse to an unremarkable truck, they noticed something interesting. A man walked in alongside the Faunus, using his cane to direct them on the heist.

" _Roman Torchwick…_ " Ozpin's voice came in through their built-in radio.

"Roman?" Naruto asked, confused.

" _He is the man Ruby fought recently. She did quite well, actually, though I don't recall him working with the White Fang,_ " Ozpin elaborated. Naruto's lips twitched upwards at the mention of his teammate going toe to toe with a criminal. " _He isn't a Faunus, after all. The very fact that the White Fang is working with him is strange._ "

"Might be something to do with the Black Cat," Naruto suggested as he narrowed his eyes.

" _No, the Black Cat never associated with the White Fang. It's more likely they would be associated with her opponent_ ," their headmaster replied. Sasuke tilted his head. What he said made sense. If the Black Cat had any influence over the White Fang, they would've been either nuisances or allies. If their activities in the past couple of months were any indications, neither were the case. Regardless, having intel on her opponent was a boon.

"Finally, I think we actually have a solid lead," Sasuke muttered, his excitement leaking into his voice. Naruto nodded as he deduced the same thing. The two jumped down from the roof, voraciously eager that after weeks of dead ends and cold trails, they had finally found something worth looking into.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, had a lot of fun with this chapter. Re-arranging teams that makes some sort of representation for colours is a lot harder than it looks.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: So I have been strangely MIA for a couple of months. Real life happened and I am forced to put the fic on a hiatus for a time. Rest assured, it is now back and running.**

* * *

 _Amateurs. The mutts are even worse than those nobodies that work for Junior._

Roman Torchwick watched on as his White Fang associates carried crates of dust from the warehouse to the waiting truck with great difficulty. The operation was simple: disable security, break-in, loot, and drive off with a couple of vehicle escorts. Despite the simplicity of the plan, the White Fang mooks almost tripped the security and had already wasted a crate of dust by spilling them over a drain. Twenty minutes behind schedule, he really needed to talk to Cinder about getting more competent minions.

It did occur to him that despite working with less than ideal people, he still managed to succeed in most of his dust heists. After all, he was being paid serious Lien as his employer was 'impressed' with his capabilities. His reputation in the Remnant underworld even got attention from the Mistral's infamous and he had no doubt that he was close to being one of the top dogs of the underworld.

"Alright, hurry it up, I've got a date soon, wouldn't want to be late," Roman called out as he tapped his cane against the ground. The goons, however, showed little indication of hearing their associate supervisor as they continued their tasks.

After another ten minutes, the crates of dust filled the truck and Roman muttered under his breath, "Finally!" as he took the wheel and cranked up the engine. Just a quick drive to another warehouse on the other side of the industrial district and the heist was done. Honestly, the Schnee Dust Company had to be pretty dumb to not beef up their security after their successes in Vale these past months.

The heist could've been smoother and more efficient but at least he wasn't attacked by a prepubescent teenager with a scythe this time. As much as he liked to dance with huntsmen wannabes from time to time, he preferred to do things cleanly; literally and figuratively.

Little did he know, his convoy was being tailed by two shinobi. For Sasuke and Naruto, it wasn't difficult following the group thanks to how the roads were designed. The vehicles couldn't move too fast in the winding roads littered with various crates and machinery, but for the black-clad operatives, it was perfect.

With something easy as this, the mission would be over in under an hour. They would, as Naruto eloquently put, "be in the noodle stands before midnight".

As they reached the final destination, they observed the White Fang members unloading the crates. Roman had already retreated into the warehouse for unknown reasons. The two approached swiftly and silently, the Faunus goons completely oblivious to their presence.

Once they got to the vehicles, Sasuke and Naruto split up, each of them ready to perform their own task.

As the Uchiha climbed the warehouse, Naruto slowly approached the White Fang members who were still going about their job. There were only about five of them outside the vicinity, either guarding the entrance or moving the loot. The blonde could only assume that the rest of the members were inside for other reasons.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu." Three exact copies of Naruto appeared right behind him, wearing the same concealing gear. The four of them dashed forward and knocked out the five Faunus before they could even yelp in surprise.

With the first group down, Naruto left his clones to tie them and watch the perimeter as he entered the warehouse. He flared his chakra as he used the Transformation Jutsu to become one of the Faunus in White Fang uniforms he had knocked out, now all that was left was to take care of the remaining enemies while Sasuke dealt with their leader.

As he walked further into the maze of containers, he finally found some of the White Fang members resting, some with a can, others simply sitting or leaning on crates. One of the Faunus noticed Naruto coming in and gave a wave.

"Yo, thanks for the hard work out there," he said, digging into a small box beside him and tossing a can to the disguised blonde. The shinobi caught it and grunted with a nod. He moved towards a crate where he could see all of the goons, so he could listen while he planned his attack.

"Damn that human, just because we are working with him, doesn't mean we have to be his glorified thugs for this bullshit," one of the members growled as he crushed his can in anger. Some of the White Fang murmured in agreement with the large man.

"It's for the long-term plan," a calmer woman said, "Boss said we have to work with him if we want to get the resources we need."

"But this is no different from before! We were slaves to the humans and now we are doing the same thing for another!" the large man retorted as he smacked on the crate to emphasize his point.

"It can't be helped, if we are to strike humans down from their pedestal, then we need resources," the female replied as she folded her arms, "I'm not saying we have to like it, we just have to do it if it gets what we want."

"She's got a point," another man said tiredly, "Besides, have you seen all the huntsmen and huntresses out there? Gonna need some serious firepower to take 'em out."

Naruto frowned; in a sense, he pitied the Faunus. Temari never mentioned how unjustly her race was treated. He hadn't talked to her directly simply because he wasn't ready to trust her. However, he drew the line at solving hatred with hatred, he had seen enough of what it could do. So far, they had mentioned a leader, but nothing concrete. Seemed like someone he would have to get Sasuke to look up on it.

"Hmph! I still find it disgusting we have to work under a human who's been calling us mutts all the time," the burly man snarled as he held up his left hand and promptly caught another can.

"Yeah! Who does he think he is? Just because Boss says we have to listen to his orders doesn't mean it gives him the right to just walk all over us!" a new voice piped up. More started to chime in agreement and to keep appearances sake, Naruto did as well.

"Humans have abused us long enough, my brothers and sisters! We only have to endure a little longer!" another Faunus called out.

"I'll tell you what, if it wasn't for that bitch that abandoned Boss a while back, we wouldn't need to be working for that human scum," a female Faunus chimed in with venom. A chorus of agreement resounded the warehouse again. Naruto raised his eyebrows; seemed like the White Fang probably had a few people that abandoned their cause. It could be for any reason, but so far, from what he could tell about them, most if not all members were passionate about their cause. So why would some of them abandon the organisation?

As Naruto listened to more of the conversation, he empathised the Faunus's plight. It reminded him a lot of his earlier years back at Konoha. Being alienated, abused and jeered at were some of the 'lighter' things he had to deal with every day. He knew that hatred, it boiled and grew with every spit, every insult, and every physical confrontation. He had wanted to hurt those who wronged him so badly.

If it wasn't for Iruka, the Sandaime Hokage, Teuchi and Ayame, he was sure he would've ended up something like the White Fang. Fed up with the abuse and eager to let the hatred turn into a source of energy.

He decided he heard enough; the members were now just ranting drivel. He created three more clones and immediately had them dart to all different targets. Each of them incapacitated their targets by slamming their fist or foot into their heads. The White Fang goons barely responded, and if they did, it was a surprised yelp or two before they crumpled into unconsciousness.

Once all of them were down, he had his clones tie them up and keep watch again. By now, Sasuke should be apprehending Roman. In the meantime, he would have to take a look around, see if he could find anything of interest.

* * *

"Oh, for heaven's sake!"

Sasuke observed as he watched the man rubbed his forehead. The two White Fang minions with Roman were knocked out thanks to an ambush the Uchiha set up in the office. However, the criminal did not show any sign of panic or worry, just annoyance. Sasuke greatly underestimated Roman; he showed solid reflexes being able to avoid the trap unscathed.

"And by some spy wannabe, really?" Roman complained to himself as he gestured towards the operative who showed himself.

"Surrender, and this won't get ugly," Sasuke offered; he'd rather settle this quickly if possible.

"Oh great, now he's spewing cliched lines from some B-rated movie," scoffed the criminal as he raised his hands in exasperation.

Roman flicked his wrist; his cane shot a volley of dust projectiles at Sasuke, but he frowned as his opponent avoided the hits and charged. The two exchanged blows, cane against gloved fists, but it was clear who was gaining the advantage. The criminal cursed as he jumped back, using his cane to throw a nearby empty box at his attacker.

Sasuke easily dodged the wooden crate followed by another volley of fire. He approached but was halted when Roman shot a few rounds between them. The criminal bolted towards the labyrinth of containers; he knew there was no point sticking around, and the fact that none of the other White Fang members raised the alarm meant that he was alone.

The shinobi chased the man, and it didn't take long for him to catch up. Roman, however, wasn't ready to give up. He turned and attempted to strike his pursuer, but the Uchiha caught the cane and countered with a punch to the chest. He pushed forward, unrelenting with his attacks while the criminal used his cane to block and avoid the incoming blows.

"I know I'm attractive and all, but could you please just not go after me? I've got important things to do and all," Roman quipped casually despite the growing pressure from his assailant's attacks. Sasuke only responded with more force, not interested in the verbal sparring. "The silent type, I see. Great."

Sasuke frowned at his own performance; for the criminal to even mount a defense against his blows shouldn't be a possibility. Either he had a semblance tailored for close combat, Remnant produced far better fighters than he thought, or his body was simply not as good as it was before he had been resurrected. It was unlikely to be the former two; he had seen Naruto take out enemies effectively with little to no issue by either overpowering them or simply with better hand to hand combat skills. The Uchiha had no issues with countering or outright overwhelming most opponents unless they had tailored their abilities. Even then, he noticed how it took him significantly longer to takedown this enemy compared to his past encounters or his friend.

As he continued the exchange of his fist against Roman's cane, he was pretty sure that his opponent's aura should be at a point where he could crush it without being fatal. The Uchiha flared his chakra, determined to end the fight decisively.

"Chidori Current!" Sasuke roared. His body flickered with electricity and Roman screamed as he felt it dance all over his body. His aura flashed to defend him from harm before it fizzled, indicating his vulnerability.

"Damnit! Damnit!" Roman grunted as he stumbled backwards from the attack. He used his cane to support himself as he breathed heavily in pain.

"...Last chance. Surrender," Sasuke ordered, this time pulling out his sword and pointing at the criminal.

Naruto entered the area where he had effectively cornered Roman. He nodded to his fellow shinobi and snarked, "Was wondering what all the grunting there was about. If you wanted some alone time-"

"Not now!" the Uchiha commanded, a little irritated at his friend's insinuation.

Roman glared at Sasuke, more annoyed than upset with the fact that he was once again interfered on his own turf. He stood up straight, the pain subsiding enough for him to ignore it as he dusted his white coat casually.

"Okay, okay, you got me," Roman sneered as he fixed his bowler hat. He still had a few cards left to play and he was not about to let some bunch of assassin wannabes take him out. "But… you didn't get _her._ "

Sasuke jumped back instinctively and avoided a hurtling missile in a form of a lady and a parasol. Roman used the distraction and twirled his cane under his arm to aim in Naruto's direction, firing a volley at him.

As Sasuke was about to retaliate, the woman in white threw a small object in his direction, forcing him to deflect it with his sword; he gritted his teeth at how sloppy his reaction was. The Uchiha just saw a small jeering smile from the lady, clearly thinking the same thing. At that moment, the object exploded and propelled him back a few metres. But that was the least of his problems; he wasn't aware just how much Roman was prepared to sacrifice to escape. In this case, every single crate, barrel and box containing dust surrounding the four of them.

It was then he noticed something strange. His Sharingan picked up a very faint flicker from the two opponents. There were no chakra irregularities, but that tiny detail could only mean one thing. _Damnit!_

The Uchiha darted towards his teammate, who was flying through his hand seals. The criminal and his partner stood side to side, and the man took off his hat as he bowed towards his assailants with a mocking smile before they both shattered like glass.

"Earth Release: Rock Shelter Jutsu!" Naruto slammed his hands onto the ground, letting the earth swallow the two shinobi in a small dome. They remained crouched inside as they heard explosions resounding outside their protective shell. Once silence reigned over them, the rock shelter receded.

Instead of being greeted by walls of boxes and crates, they were greeted with a large crater. The explosions had taken out some of the adjacent warehouses as well as the one they had been in.

"Phew… still got the captured guys safe," Naruto muttered to himself.

Sasuke didn't share his friend's relief. By all accounts, he should've been easily able to subdue Roman and his ally. In fact, his combat over the past few weeks had been strangely subpar. If he had to guess, the Black Cat lied about returning all his strength to him.

Another thing that annoyed him was the fact that anyone here could create an illusion. It was very different from genjutsu since it didn't require chakra, but like the ninja art, it had irregularities. He'll have to be very attentive in fights next time.

"Sasuke, you okay?" Naruto asked, noticing how silent his friend had been.

"Yeah… yeah, I'm okay," Sasuke replied, still staring at his hand. A few moments later, the sirens of Vale's emergency services were wailing in the background, steadily becoming louder. "C'mon, let's get out of here. Bring the White Fang members."

* * *

A new beginning, that's how Ren would describe Beacon. He joined this academy with his closest and only friend, still looking for a place he could return to. The past decade or so had been difficult and he didn't know how he had kept going. Perhaps it was his long-time partner or his 'deluded' hope in finding a place to call home. In the end, he, along with Nora, may have found it.

Ren flinched, not because he was in pain, but because he saw his new blonde teammate get floored again, literally. He had been watching Obito and Jaune spar for the past hour after dinner, every time they clashed the blonde would end up on the ground groaning. According to his leader, it was much needed 'training' to get the taller boy more effective in combat. Nora seemed to enjoy the spar and cheered for either one like a competition.

He didn't mind it too much, he even attempted to give his shield-wielding friend some pointers only to be met with confusion before the blonde would end up on the ground in pain. Nora, however, had forgotten the point of the training session and egged on her leader to use the 'flamethrower of doom' on the poor blonde.

Obito easily weaved in and out of Jaune's clumsy strikes before he smacked his sword away and kicked the taller boy in the chest. Jaune stumbled backwards before he fell and let exhaustion do the talking. His chest rose up and down fast, the engagements with his partner had him in pain from overexertion.

"Okay, take five!" Obito declared as he held out his hand to his partner, who gladly took it. "You're doing better."

"Really? I couldn't tell with you beating me down all the time," Jaune retorted as he panted. Ren nodded to himself; Obito may not look like it, but he was a pure slave driver if the last hour was anything to go by.

"Aww, don't be like that, Jauney-boy! You lasted a few seconds longer every match!" Nora said brightly as she came up and smacked him on the back, only for him to tumble back down.

"Well, my old master said that the first rule to fighting Grimm is to learn how to dodge," Obito said with a smile before he decided to take a seat next to the unmoving Jaune. The taller boy only groaned.

Ren suppressed a chuckle at his new teammates. In the past day, all four of them easily got along with each other. Both Obito and Jaune were amiable and Nora had taken a shine to them. The four of them even bonded over a popular game app they played the previous night with their scrolls. Of course, it resulted almost his entire team far too tired to join Professor Port's lesson.

"So, what's the second rule?" Jaune asked as he sat up and rubbed his ribs.

Obito pondered at the question before he said uncertainly, "Er… hit back very hard…probably."

Ren and Jaune looked at their leader with a raised eyebrow while Nora agreed as she flexed her biceps with a grin. "Yep! Sounds like _the_ plan!" she replied. Ren shook his head in endearment, his closest friend was simple, but he wouldn't have her in any other way.

"It isn't a bad tactic to use," Ren chimed in. After all, he had dealt with many adversaries in similar fashion. Obito shrugged, not concerned about their reactions but smiled regardless. He tapped his partner on the shoulder and stood up, with the taller boy following suit.

"Well, the session isn't over! We still got a good half-hour before curfew hits. Ren, Nora." Obito left the order hanging is he jerked his thumb behind him. Nora perked up at the suggestion with excitement.

Ren paled slightly, he knew what his leader wanted. He was not a fan of sparring with Nora for a very good reason. She was strong, remarkably strong. While he considered himself to be a competent fighter, he knew that training with her often ended up with him being sore in places he didn't even know he had.

"Oh! Yes! Ren, let's do this!" Nora took out her trusty Warhammer and she twirled it around without much trouble.

"Um… I'm going to have to take a rain check, I have this essay-" Ren tried to back out, but his leader nudged him towards his partner.

"Bah! You can do that once we get back to our rooms. I need to know how you guys fight anyways." Obito waved off his teammate's attempt to escape the situation.

"C'mon, Ren! It'll be fun!" Nora crooned. She was already on the field with her fighting stance at the ready.

"Yeah, and we don't have long before we gotta put our weapons back in the armoury," Obito added as he gave a final push before nodding with an enthusiastic grin.

Ren looked at his last line of defence, only for Jaune to give an apologetic smile and wave. He resigned as he took out his weapons and braced himself for the spar. He knew Nora, she was an enthusiastic girl and when she put her mind to it, she was nigh unstoppable. Living with her for over a decade was more than enough time to get to know her.

Within a few minutes of desperate dodging, Ren found himself staring at the darkening sky, his body aching in various places. His vision soon filled with the sheepish faces of his leader and partner, while Jaune had a worried look.

"My bad," Obito apologized with a nervous chuckle. He had clearly been unaware of Nora's monstrous strength and energy. "But damn, Nora, you hit pretty hard!" The leader helped Ren up as the sole female member grinned with a thumbs up.

"You know it!"

"Well, it's good to know we have someone who could take on anything," Jaune commented as he scratched his head. Nora, compared to her teammates, hadn't even broken a sweat. The blonde was almost convinced that if the three of them were to gang up on the hyperactive girl, they would still lose.

As the four trekked their way back to the armoury, Ren pondered about his team. The two of them were easy to get along with and were serious in bettering themselves. Perhaps he and Nora could finally find a place to call home.

* * *

Xiong groaned as she slowly opened her eyes. She felt like she had the worst hangover of her life. She tried to rub her head to soothe her pain but found she couldn't. She moved her right arm, and failed; her left arm, no dice. She struggled one more time and realised she couldn't move at all. She was bound with ropes, and her feet too were completely tied up.

She decided to yell, but that proved to be futile, she was gagged as well. The panda Faunus could only lay there as she tried to remember what happened before she was knocked out. She and a few of her co-workers had been moving crates of looted dust from the SDC to their warehouse. After that her memory was blank.

The captured White Fang member lay on the leather couch on her side, with an illuminating TV screen on the adjacent wall as the sole source of light in the room. Now that she had a better look around her, there were couches, a glass coffee table, bookshelves… She was probably in someone's living room and they seemed to be decently well off.

"You're awake, good," a disembodied voice sounded through the room. She struggled to sit up in an attempt to look for the source, finding two figures dressed in black from head to toe. She had no idea who they could be behind those helmets, but she knew they were human.

One of them sat down on the couch opposite her, while the other peeled the tape off her mouth before sitting to her left.

"Let's make this clear; we ask, you answer," the man opposite of her stated briskly. Xiong glared and spat at him, impressively hitting his helmet. The man wiped at it before murmuring softly to himself.

Xiong smirked triumphantly; these humans were soft, she thought to herself until she felt a sharp pain in her stomach and a blade protruded out of her. She screamed and flailed, but a second later the blade and the pain were no longer there. She breathed heavily. It felt so real, what was going on?

"There are plenty of ways to break you without touching you," the man continued as is if nothing happened. He stood up and directed his colleague to leave. "Now, I'll ask you again, will you cooperate?"

She wasn't keen on experiencing whatever they had done to her again, but she wasn't going to let them do what they wanted for free. If she played her cards right, she might learn something. "Fine, what do you want?"

"Good." Even with the tinted eyepieces, Xiong was wary of whoever was behind that helmet. "Why is the White Fang working for Roman Torchwick?"

"... Why should I tell you?" she muttered bitterly, her black bangs covering her vision.

She heard the man sigh before he murmured to himself again. Her nose twitched, smoke filled her senses as she felt heat from her feet. They were on fire, and it crept up her legs and the scalding pain forced a scream from her throat. After a few seconds, the fire disappeared, and the smell dissipated completely.

"One last time. Why is the White Fang working for Roman Torchwick?" the man asked. His distorted voice was measured.

The panda Faunus could only glare at him from under her hair before she spat, "Fuck you!"

Her interrogator sighed, then he snapped his fingers. The second man appeared and dragged with him another White Fang member. The Faunus was forced down onto her knees as her mask was ripped off, revealing despondent blue eyes.

"Azuli?" whispered Xiong. The other Faunus didn't respond. What did they do to her? In one swift motion, the second man jammed a combat knife into her neck, and she died before she even hit the floor. Blood sprayed across the table and the floor, petering out and pooling underneath the corpse.

"Azuli!" Xiong screamed as she tried to propel herself forward, only to be pushed back by the murderer.

"We are serious, if you do not give us a proper answer, we will do what is necessary to make you talk." Xiong could only tearfully glare at the interrogator.

"We… we were all prepared to die for the cause. You won't get anything from me you motherfucker!" she snarled as she struggled even further against her binds.

"... I see." The interrogator opened his scroll and began browsing through it. He then showed the display to the Faunus. "Miss Xiong Mao, I'm aware of the fact that you have a family that has no idea you are part of the White Fang. Hmm, both parents are dead, but you have two younger siblings. Good thing we found them."

Xiong froze; they had to be lying, there was no way they would have known her that intimately. The interrogator nodded to his accomplice, who again disappeared into another room. In a few minutes, a younger boy with panda ears was pushed through the door and to the floor. His eyes darted left and right before they finally landed on her.

"Xiong! Xiong! Wh-what's going on? I-" the boy choked out, but his warden smacked his head to silence him. He collapsed, sobs punctuated by hiccups.

"I wonder… if you'll talk when your brother is about to die," the interrogator said, more to himself than Xiong. He signalled his accomplice, who nodded and roughly pulled him up to kneel. He drew his combat knife, ready to plunge it into the boy's neck.

"Stop!" Xiong shrieked, and the about-to-be killer paused and turned his helmet towards the prisoner. "I'll tell you everything… please, just… let him go."

Her voice no longer held any defiance, just fear and resignation. The second man relaxed his grip on the boy who kept his head down. The interrogator stood up and approached the girl.

"Good. Talk. I warn you, if you try to lie, I'll know," he said.

Sasuke listened to Xiong as she obediently answered all the questions he asked. Contrary to her belief, they were simply sitting in a room with a couple of wooden chairs and a worn couch. Behind her were a pile of unconscious Faunus, captured an hour ago along with her.

Sasuke sat back as he dispelled his genjutsu on Xiong. It was never his strongest suite, but it was their best option to get anything tangible from that fiasco of a mission last night. He and Naruto failed to apprehend Roman, secure the stolen dust or obtain any other relevant items. The result? Roman was likely to go into hiding for who knew how long, the dust was good as gone and all they had was a bunch of captured goons from the lowest point of the totem pole.

Well, at least they had made some progress with interrogating the Faunus. The White Fang was working for a third-party entity and planning to use the dust for another operation, probably large scale. That meant that they were likely to have more dust stored elsewhere in the city.

"You done?" Naruto called from the door. Sasuke nodded and turned to leave the room with his friend. He would get Ozpin to call the police; there were only a bunch of unconscious White Fang goons anyways.

"Well, at least you didn't use the Human Path. Would've given the police a heart attack," the blonde muttered with a small sigh of relief. He had never seen the end result of what happened to the victims of the technique, but from what he heard it wasn't pretty.

"No need to kill her. Already got as much as I could from her," Sasuke replied tiredly. They exited the apartment and scaled towards the roof.

"What did she tell you then?" Naruto asked as he adjusted his helmet slightly.

"Nothing huge except that she pretty much confirmed our suspicions that there are more than just the White Fang we have to deal with."

"Great! A whole bunch of nothing… did she mention the name of the 'Boss'?"

"Yeah… His name is Adam Taurus," Sasuke answered, "But she doesn't know why he decided to cooperate with Roman Torchwick. They were just ordered to follow him for a series of operations. No idea what the end game is."

Naruto sighed and jumped to the next roof with Sasuke following him. Tonight had sucked, but at least they still had a trail to follow.

* * *

"Welcome to the Reality Augmented Dust Arena Room, or RADAR for short. This is a new part of the curriculum that will be added to your combat training," Professor Goodwitch announced in front of her first-year class. "The aim of this class is to prepare you for different types of missions where your team will face multiple scenarios."

The RADAR consisted of one large enclosed area, enough to house two football fields. The class were in a control room just outside. Goodwitch tapped on the keyboard and several screens buzzed to life as they displayed a variety of information.

"This class is scheduled once a week. I strongly suggest that you all work with your team to figure out how you will move together. A good grade will be dependant on both your skill and teamwork," Goodwitch continued as she surveyed her class. Many of the students over the stands started chattering excitedly.

"Now, to get you all to understand how this works, we will have a mock mission right now. Do we have any volunteers?" she asked. Weiss instantly snapped her hand up. "Ah, team WNTR. Very well, please gear up and meet me at the lock in ten minutes. Everyone else, the four screens above me will be our observation tools for these classes."

Weiss was excited. Something that could prove her to be a true leader. After all, if Winter graduated at the top of her class, then she could too. They didn't have anything like Scenario Training during her days, so this was an opportunity to surpass the older sister.

Weiss watched her team as they readied themselves; Naruto and Ruby chatted excitedly about the RADAR which was just beyond the larger of the two doors, while Temari inspected her battle fan. At the very least, all three of them seemed eager to do their best compared to other classes like History or Grimm Studies.

"Good, all of you are ready," Professor Goodwitch stated as she entered the lock room. She gave a single approving nod and continued, "I'm sure this goes without saying, but take this mock mission as you would take this as a real mission." She distributed four small devices to between each member of the team. "These are panic buttons, if for any reason you feel you cannot continue, place your thumb over the scanner for three seconds and the RADAR will deactivate. I will act as your tactical command for this class."

With that, she left the lock room. After three minutes, the room hummed, slightly alarming Ruby before the large door opened, revealing what seemed to be the interior of a Bullhead. Weiss entered first without hesitation followed by the rest of her team.

" _Team WNTR, you have been assigned to a subjugation mission. There has been a sighting of an Archon near a village, it appears to have settled in a destroyed nearby farm. Eliminate the Archon, all other Grimm are secondary. All necessary information will be uploaded to your scrolls,_ " Goodwitch's cool voice echoed in the dark hold.

"Umm… What's an Archon?" Naruto asked as he raised his hand with a sheepish grin.

Weiss held in the urge to sigh at her partner's underwhelming Grimm knowledge. She folded her arms and stated, "An Archon is a Grimm that takes the shape of a lion. They mostly are known for the capability to spawn Reavers that are humanoid Grimm. Didn't you read the Grimm Studies textbook I lent you?"

"...A little bit?" he replied as he shrugged. Weiss merely raised her eyebrow and Naruto hung his head. "Fine… I'll read it later for Port's assignment."

"You better. I'll be checking to make sure you are doing it correctly," Weiss warned. The leader had made it clear to her partner that she would not tolerate him getting anything lower than a credit, much to his chagrin.

"Okay, what's the plan?" Temari chimed in. Her hands were folded as she leaned against the wall. This was technically their first 'mission' together and there was no doubt that the Faunus was wanted to see how the Schnee would lead.

"Oh! I say we go in, first come, first serve!" Ruby cheered. She had never faced an Archon before and she was excited to take it on.

"No!" Weiss hissed, effectively deflated the youngest member on their team. She paused as she tapped her chin, formulating a decent strategy for this task. The problem was that she had never worked with Ruby and Temari in this kind of environment. Much to her displeasure, the plan would likely be half-baked at best. "We will do this as a team. Naruto, box the Archon in. I will hold it in place and the two of you will finish it off."

Weiss nodded to herself, convinced that this was the best strategy with the resources she had. After all, Ruby and Temari both had long ranged capabilities, so why not have them prepare a long-ranged support?

"Wait, an Archon is way too fast to be held in place! It would be better if we move it to Naruto or Ruby so they can make a decisive strike on it," Temari rebutted; which firmly earned her a glare from the Schnee.

"How would you know? We can't exactly drive it to Naruto or Ruby and expect them to hit it with everything they've got," Weiss argued back.

"But trying to box the Archon in would just put Naruto in danger!" the Faunus retorted as she leaned forward.

Weiss's eyes narrowed at the female blonde. She always suspected someone like Temari to refute her strategy. She didn't know why she expected better and it was probably what she deserved for expecting too much from a Faunus. She had hoped that Temari would be an exception to the majority of Faunus she had met or heard off. Naruto and Ruby, on the other hand, seemed to be fine with what the young leader was laying out.

"Well, I'm the leader. You will follow my orders to the letter!" Weiss bit back in equal volume as she pointed at Temari with her eyes narrowed.

"Well… this is going well," Naruto mumbled to Ruby, whose eyes were darting back and forth between Weiss and Temari.

As the two heated teammates glared at each other, a cool voice echoed into the Bullhead, " _Archon sighted. ETA one minute._ "

The doors of the airship opened, and the team found themselves flying over a densely packed forest. The team could only marvel at how seemingly realistic the environment was. The sky looked cloudy yet authentic in such a way that none of them would be able to differentiate it from the real thing. As the airship slowed down, they noticed how each tree seemed to sway softly with the wind. Weiss knew a few years back that the Atlas tech institutes were working on something like this, but she never expected the level of detail and realism to be this advanced.

Weiss stood to the edge first, nodded to the rest of her team and jumped, with them following in tow. Once they landed, Weiss opened her scroll and it displayed a small map with several blinking dots. As she analyzed the information given, Naruto and Ruby decided to 'experience' the very dirt below them, completely in awe of their environment.

"The target is about three hundred metres to the North from here. Let's go," she ordered. She noticed Naruto and Ruby touching everything they could grasp while Temari was a little more interested at keeping watch. It was almost funny how out of all of them, it was the Faunus who was taking this more seriously.

"Ahem! Let's go!" Weiss repeated in a louder voice, successfully grabbing the attention of her team. She began marching towards the objective, with the team closely following behind.

It wasn't a smooth journey and they encountered a few packs of Grimm which they swiftly dealt with. As team WNTR approached the abandoned farm, they saw the Archon laying there, not even acknowledging them. The Grimm was massive and harboured a large bone-like helm. Across the muscular body were several bony spikes.

Weiss narrowed her eyes; it was still daylight so they shouldn't have to worry about fighting in the dark.

"So that's an Archon, looks pretty nasty," Naruto muttered as he slowly approached it.

"It doesn't see us as a threat," Weiss stated. The Grimm had its eyes fixed to the two of them without making much movement. "Hmph, we can use this to our advantage. Wait until the others get in position."

The Grimm sat like a statue for what felt like several minutes. The team approached with caution, each one of them except Naruto drawing their weapons for the confrontation. Eventually, it stood up and slowly moved towards them, putting the team on edge. It lowly growled and lowered its body ever so slightly.

"If we're going to do something, we gotta do it now!" Temari stated as she opened her fan. The team positioned themselves for the battle as the Archon slowly approached them, lazily flicking its bony tail.

Weiss huffed at how they couldn't execute a simple strategy. There were so many things they could've done differently but they didn't do it. The white-haired girl sighed; _so much for the plan._ She nodded to Naruto who then prepared his first move. "Earth Release: Enclosing Cage Jutsu!"

The dry fields around the Grimm erupted with several walls. The Archon, however, easily jumped over the growing cage before it could even get close to touching it. It landed and the ground beneath it cracked under the sheer weight, its eyes surveying the team as they prepared their next move.

The Grimm roared, its voice carrying over to the forest. As if it was a command, several scrabbling figures burst out of the ground. Each one of them had a bony mask and they pulled themselves out of the cracked field like they were zombies. Their arms were pointed bone like spears and their legs resembled bird's feet.

They steadied themselves and started to charge towards the team with their sharp appendages raised.

"Reavers!" Temari called out. She swung her fan and a gale of wind crashed into the small army of Grimm. However, only a few of them fell to the attack, most having been able to resist thanks to their bony armour.

"Ruby, Naruto!" Weiss's semblance flared to life as the glyphs appeared underneath the two of them.

Naruto's chakra charged up as he activated the Earth Release: Iron Skin Jutsu while Ruby clicked on her dust ammo for extra speed. Weiss flicked her rapier forward, and her two teammates rocketed towards the pack. Ruby sliced through the Grimm like a hot knife through butter, her scythe and figure twirling like a vicious red tornado as scores of Reavers fell before her. Naruto, on the other hand, zipped right through the enemies, smacking the smaller ones away with his fists as he approached the Archon.

The monster wasn't interested in engaging the blonde and ferociously roared at him approaching. As Naruto was about to make plant his fist into the lion Grimm, he was batted away with a quick swipe of its paw. The shinobi wasn't hurt by the attack thanks to his jutsu, but he landed back in the horde of Reavers and many quickly jumped to pin him down. With a grunt, he recovered and began smashing away the smaller Grimm by slogging his fist at each one close enough to him.

"Temari!" Weiss turned to the Faunus. The blonde paused, she already knew what her leader wanted but now wasn't the time to argue. She nodded to the shorter girl and readied her fan. More glyphs appeared beneath and in front of Weiss in a straight line. With one swing, a massive wind was brought forth and propelled the young leader forward.

As Weiss joined Naruto and Ruby, the three systematically eliminated each Reaver but for each one they killed, another would rise and take its place. The Archon wasn't idle. It leapt forward towards the closest target: Ruby. She dodged in a flurry of roses and circled the Grimm, firing at it with a volley of dust shots, but they did little to the massive body of the Archon, and it attempted to whip its tail at the zipping huntress.

Naruto and Weiss took out the remaining Reavers as they seemingly ceased being produced by the Archon. Temari finally caught up and with a nod to the two, she readied her fan again.

"Get ready!" their leader yelled as a glyph appeared beneath her. While Ruby kept the large Grimm busy, another glyph appeared under it. Weiss rocketed forward, her _Myrtenaster_ aimed at the intricate circle. The moment her rapier made contact, ice bloomed like a flower, effectively keeping the Grimm in place as she gracefully vaulted over it and joined Ruby. Temari's wind soon followed and collided with the Archon, covering it in gashes.

Naruto grinned and jumped forward. Normally he would use Wind Release: Rasengan to finish the job, but he couldn't since it wasn't his 'semblance'. He stomped onto the Archon's head and knocked it to the ground. He wasn't finished; he jumped off and with a few more punches the struggling Grimm finally ceased to move as it's bony helm cracked and eventually caved.

A loud buzzing resounded through the area and soon the environment started to fade away as the mock mission was completed.

" _Satisfactory job. Come back to the lock room,_ " Goodwitch's voice echoed. The team glanced at each other and started to head off, with Ruby and Naruto high-fiving.

"Well, that wasn't too bad," Naruto mused cheerfully. It could've gone faster in his opinion, but overall it was pretty easy.

"It could be better," Weiss said. It didn't play out how she wanted, but for what it was worth no one was hurt at all.

"Oh, we can actually agree on something!" Temari replied mockingly behind her leader's back. That effectively drained Ruby and Naruto's spirits. Weiss and the blonde girl did not get along at all.

* * *

Most of the class erupted in cheers and applauded as team WNTR entered the classroom. Yang grinned and she whistled loudly. Ruby kicked some serious ass and even went toe to toe with the Archon by herself. Sure, it had the blonde a little worried since they were considered to be a fairly dangerous Grimm, but her pride for her little sister grew tenfold after that engagement.

As the applause subsided, Blake commented, "They did pretty good."

"Well, what do you expect? My sister's on their team and they got Naruto! There's no way they'll fail!" Yang folded her arms and nodded confidently.

Blake's golden eyes only turned to her with the most deadpan stare she ever witnessed. "Really? I seemed to recall you grabbing Sasuke's arm and hair because you saw Naruto getting knocked away and Ruby being pounced by the Grimm." Sasuke only grunted in affirmation as his face mirrored his leader's.

Yang sheepishly laughed before she slouched in dejection. She couldn't help but be concerned, damn her big sister instincts!

Glynda then called out for another volunteer to enter the RADAR. With WNTR's solid execution, many students shot their hands up, eager to try out the new system. A team was selected and soon they were ushered to the facility while the rest of the class started to chat among themselves.

"The RADAR system looked pretty realistic, we should do it whenever we have the chance," Pyrrha suggested as she stared intently into the TV screens. They were blank for now, but any moment they would buzz to life and follow one of the four team members. It did the same thing with WNTR's run of their mock mission. Each screen displayed the actions of each member as if there was a camera following them from above.

Yang's grin quickly grew again, she thought it was pretty exciting. It wasn't as spontaneous as when you go out exploring, but all things considered, RADAR was close enough. She glanced at her teammates. Both Pyrrha and Blake had their attention on the screen with mild interest while Sasuke seemed to be more interested in his scroll than anything else.

"Oi, what are you doing?" Yang asked her partner in a sing-song voice. As expected, he froze up and glared at her. "C'mon! Don't you want to see more of the RADAR?"

"...No," Sasuke refocused his eye on the scroll only for it to be snatched by his partner. She then slung her arm over his shoulders.

"Oh, you know you want to."

"No, I do not."

"You definitely do," Naruto piped up. He sat next to Sasuke with a large mischievous grin and nudged lightly at the Uchiha. He then gave a small wave to team BYSP. "Hey guys, Sasuke being a recluse?"

"Yep, it's a shame, really, I'm worried about his social life," Yang replied in a sad tone. Her face, however, was still stretched with a grin. Her female teammates waved at Naruto before they concentrated on the mock mission being displayed.

"You felt that too? So, I wasn't the only one concerned for his wellbeing! Thank goodness you're his friend," Naruto said in fake worry. Sasuke twitched.

"Oh please! I only did what any friend would do and care for a person who needs it most," Yang hugged her partner tighter. Once again, he twitched.

"You hear that, Sasuke? We'll make sure you aren't a functional mute! We want you to grow up healthy-"

"Enough!" Sasuke commanded as he shook off his partner, only eliciting giggles from the two blondes that never cease to annoy him. "I'll watch the damn thing."

"That's the spirit!" Yang cheered as she slapped his back only for him to groan. She then winked at her fellow blonde. "By the way, nice job on the RADAR!"

"Thanks! You guys should definitely go for it when you get the chance," Naruto replied as he followed his fellow students and watched the screen. On the display, a lanky boy got battered by an Ursa's swipe despite him trying to block it with his bo-staff. "Ouch, that guy just got floored."

"Well, it was his fault for not watching his surroundings," Blake piped up casually. The team in the RADAR were struggling to complete the task. They were continuously pounced and had been separated by the pressure the Grimm were exerting. Some of the students even cheered in hopes that the team would somehow hear them.

"Hn, they are just not good enough," Sasuke commented with a shrug.

"Oh, don't be like that! Most of us here haven't fought powerful Grimm before," Yang chided as she rested her arm on his shoulders again. Naruto had to suppress a chuckle; watching Sasuke squirm from his partner had just become his new entertainment.

Yang glanced at her fellow blonde. She wanted to ask about the 'interaction' they had at the end of their run. She honestly expected some cheers, but it quickly went down the drain with something Weiss and Temari said. No one needed to be a mind reader to know that there were some tensions in the team. The very fact that there was a Faunus and a Schnee in the same team was already more than enough to be concerned about. She decided that she would let it play it out; they would put aside their differences, hopefully.

* * *

" _...the Vale Police are still investigating the scene. We will update you once they release more information. This is Lisa Lavender and-_ "

The TV's power cut off as Roman sighed and set his empty glass on the table. The job's progress had been set back considerably thanks to the two assassin wannabes. He lost a whole platoon of useless White Fang mutts and a cache warehouse of dust. A massive blow that delayed months of work in just one confrontation.

He tapped his perfumed lit cigar, irritation subsiding now that he looked at the results of that 'assassination' attempt. No, it was a capture attempt; he wasn't an idiot, if they wanted him dead they wouldn't bother trying to go through the White Fang mooks in the first place. They would've just killed him and pinned it all on the terrorists.

That could only mean one thing: he was a high-value target to them. He didn't even know if he wanted to laugh at the situation or not.

Sharp knocks echoed through the door and it was obvious who they belonged to. As he stood up and opened it, he was greeted by a man and woman; the two people he was last eager to see. He muttered, "Oh, great… it's you two."

"Heard you were on the ass end of an ass-kicking," the man with grey hair quipped as he pushed through Roman, "Every single fuck up would see you as an inspiration! Bravo, I applaud you."

The woman followed the man, not even bothering to spare a glance at Roman. She looked around, her face revealing nothing but disinterest.

Roman inwardly growled. Today had not been a good day and he was not interested in retorting to some kid's attempt to mock him. "What does she want? Do I have to babysit you two again?" Roman asked as he closed the door. He continued to puff on his cigar as he kept his gaze on them. He had never been fond of the two and for good reason. They were basically _her_ lapdogs that did virtually nothing as far as he had seen.

"She wants to know what the hell happened last night," the woman stated as she folded her arms. She stared around the apartment and quietly muttered to herself, "Ugh, what a dump."

"What do you think? I didn't just blow up a whole depot of dust because I wanted to," Roman retorted with a snort. "Seriously, I thought you two would be intelligent enough to figure it out by yourselves."

The woman's eyes narrowed at the jab, while her partner chuckled instead. "Funny you should say that, because I'm pretty sure almost no one would be dumb enough to do that… except maybe you. You are special!" With that, he slowly clapped and got a snort out of his partner.

Roman gritted his teeth. The last thing he needed was some jest from a street rat and a sociopath reprimanding him for things out of his control. "I still have plenty of other locations that hold all the dust we could ever need, I'm not an amateur like you two kiddos."

He knew it was a weak defence at best; a warehouse of dust being blown up was still a massive loss and whatever scheme they were planning, it probably dented their schedule by a large margin.

"She said this will be your last chance, try not to screw it up," the green haired woman said as she made for the door. The man mockingly put his hand to his mouth as if Roman had done something 'very bad' before strolling behind her with his hands behind his head.

Once the door was shut, Roman fought off the urge to throw something expensive at the floor. If there was one thing he hated more than annoying pests or having a constant interruption in his operations, it was that he was being kept in the dark. Cinder had been completely silent about what the dust was for and the resources he was given to perform her tasks were inadequate.

Deciding to pour himself another glass of bourbon, he concluded it was time to pull in some favours. He may be an ambitious criminal, but it meant nothing if the next few months left him with a good chance of being dead.

* * *

 **A/N: Since I have other things I must focus on, new chapters will be released at a slower rate. It won't be abandoned, I despise being unable to finish things, especially under my own power. Anyhow, hope ya enjoyed!**


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